A vertical farm project in Saint-Barth

A vertical farm project in Saint-Barth



Supported by a young local entrepreneur, a vertical farm project calling on airport technology could be created in the near future in Saint-Barthélemy. This structure, the first of its kind in the Caribbean, could produce 10 to 15 tonnes of fruits, vegetables and aromatic plants per year.
Asaint-Barthélemy, agricultural production exists but comes down to a skin of sorrow. Some small farms scattered here and there which represent only a neglected part of the consumption of the inhabitants of the island. It goes without saying that in such a limited space and taking into account the operating conditions, embarking on agricultural production is almost a challenge. However, technology could offer new perspectives in Saint-Barth. At least, this is the conviction of a young entrepreneur on the island, Paco Chanseau, who filed a building permit on behalf of his company "Zero Saint-Barth" to erect a vertical farm in the Saline district. An ambitious project which requires an investment of more than a million euros and which would make it possible to produce between ten and fifteen tonnes of fruits, vegetables and aromatic plants each year.
" A logic
autonomy "
This vertical farm will have the distinction of operating on the basics of an increasingly widespread technology around the world: Airropo-nie. A product method
In Italy, New York and Dubai, the Italian company Zero has successfully developed agriculture structures in airports.
lesser external rejection. "We do not waste water, neither to water nor to wash products, so consumption is less and there is no" shock "for products, explains Paco Chanseau. Their life expectancy is therefore higher, like their quality. »Only shadow on the board: an important consumption of electricity. But then again, the conceptors of the project anticipated this drawback. "We are going to install photo-voltaic panels that will allow us to reduce the consumption by using a renewable energetic," says Paco Chanseau. With these pancakes, we must ensure almost 40% of the consumption of the farm. We will therefore be able to produce the same products at the same prices, all the year, without waste. »»


The installation site chooses by zero Saint-Barth is located in Saline, on a plot currently used as a deposit. "There are very few neighboring constructions and a low presence of vegetation," notes Paco
Chanseau. The vertical farm will occupy 400 square meters. "The project is designed to optimize the impact on the one," he said. The existing platform will be enlarged and rocks will be placed upstream and downstream in order to vegetate the terrain and create landscaped masks necessary for its integration into the landscape. "A sanitation system will be entered in the parking lot while a large tank will have the aim of recovering rainwater in order to use them for production.
"If tomorrow we show that we are able to set up on a small pebble like Saint-Barth and that after six months after it works 100%, it will be great," enthuses the entrepreneur- neur. However, before being able to launch out, the building permit filed on April 22 must obtain the approval of the town planning committee and, then that of the executive council of the Ter- Ritoriale. The final decision is therefore in the hands of elected officials.
agricultural tion which allows to cultivate - above ground - of names produced throughout the year, in an environment closed and fully controlled. With an additional advantage: that of using no pesticides. "The structure is like a closed box," explains Paco Chanseau. It works with lighting of LEDs, air conditioning, water, minerals, fertilizers. Everything is organic. The temperature is controlled, everything is scientific. The goal is to benefit
of a total controlled local production. The entrepreneur does not go alone in this project. If it is the main shareholder at the local level, it is as a partner of the company It-Lienne baptized zero. "I visited the headquarters in Pordenone, near Venice, in 2019, says Paco Chanseau. It is an extraordinary technology. Zero has already installed a production unit in Italy, in the suburbs of Newyorketàdubai. "In Saint-Barth, we will implant the first vertical farm in the Caribbean, anticipates the entrant. This project is part of a logic of autonosophy of the island and the production will complement what is already done in Saint-Barth. It’s the future of agriculture. You have to see this farm as an opportunity, not as a threat. »»
"No waste"
The technique of airpopon, technological developed-
ment by zero and other companies in the

Wikipedia on aeroponics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroponics

The same Paco Chanseau as formerly at Tamarin...

I thought so!

Michel Magras weighs in:

Ferme verticale : le scepticisme de Michel Magras

Même en voyage loin de Saint- Barth, l’ancien sénateur Michel Magras reste attentif aux « remous » de l’actualité de son île. Ainsi, par le biais de sa page Face- book, l’ancien élu exprime son avis sur le projet de ferme verticale porté par un jeune entrepreneur à Saint- Barth.
« Si le principe scientifique de ce type d’ activité reste innovant, la notion de ferme verticale ou d’ agriculture verticale à une échelle indus- trielle (pour nourrir toute une population), pour ce que j’ en sais, est totalement ina- daptée aux réalités locales, affirme Michel Magras. La démarche consiste à super- poser des étages de cultures, dans des espaces fermés, dans un environnement contrôlé et entièrement auto- matisé (lumière artificielle permanente, approvisionne- ment en eau enrichie d’ en- grais à des doses minutieuse- ment calculées pour optimi- ser la croissance, maintien d’ une température constante...). Dans la pra- tique, les espaces naturels sont remplacés par un nou- veau type de tours implan- tées dans ou à proximité des villes où des zones urbani- sées. Ce n’ est pas par hasard que le plus bel exemple se trouve à Singapour (qui n’ est sans doute pas un modèle de développement à suivre pour notre île...). » Une réflexion qui peut toutefois être contes- tée puisque la structure du projet de ferme à Saint-Barth n’a rien de comparable avec celles évoquées par l’ancien député.
Néanmoins, Michel Magras poursuit en dénonçant le sup- posé principe de fonctionne- ment des porteurs du projet de ferme verticale : « Une démarche en tout point com- parable à l’ élevage intensif (poulets en batteries). L’ homme a ainsi décidé de transposer les mêmes prin- cipes chez les végétaux, l’ ob- jectif étant de produire plus et plus vite pour nourrir l’ hu- manité et surtout gagner beaucoup d’ argent. » Et l’ancien professeur de science d’affirmer : « Aucune étude connue n’ a réussi à ce jour à mesurer ou évaluer les conséquences biologiques et physiologiques chez l’ espèce humaine. Il faudra bien trou- ver une population ciblée pour servir de cobaye. Bien entendu, il faudrait être naïf pour ne pas comprendre que l’ adaptation proposée pour Saint-Barth répond à une tout autre démarche. La ficelle est beaucoup trop grosse. »

The ex-senateur and science teacher is skeptical that this high intensity, vertical farming technique is well-suited for local conditions and says there have been no studies on the biological and physiological consequences of the process.

And adds: "la ficelle est beaucoup trop grosse". In other words, Monsieur Magras claims to see all too well the strings attached to the marionette and suspects there are hidden interests or motives behind the project.

Natural spaces replaced by farm buildings does not seem like a very good idea on an island that is already over-developed and with no source of fresh water (except desalinated ocean water) - things that work in France or Singapore (as cited above) may simply not work here.