Vertical farming : integrated research and operational training | |
| Author | Pobai Tang |
| Call Number | AIT Internship report no.AS-23-01 |
| Subject(s) | Agricultural machinery Farm equipment Factories--Lighting |
| Note | An internship report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Agricultural Systems & Engineering |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | My internship was conducted with the National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, which is under the under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Energy, and was later established under the National Science and Technology Development Agency, located in Thailand Science Park, Pathum Thani, Thailand. The objective of this internship is to obtain working experience in the field of controlled environment agriculture, particularly with regards to indoor vertical farming systems, in order to better work with companies/organizations that operate indoor vertical farming systems in the future. The internship was conducted with the same organization and team on two separate occasions, the first was conducted from May 9, 2022 to August 5, 2022, and the second was conducted from January 9, 2023 to April 12, 2023. The main goals of this internship was to understand the key components, various processes, and advantages and disadvantages of Plant Factories, as well assist the organization with their various tasks. During the internship, various activities were conducted, which include, studying the key layout and processes involved in a Plant Factory, assist in a number of experiments that were assigned by the team, and conduct general Plant Factory operational activities. During this process, a number of key advantages and disadvantages were identified during initial desk research into Plant Factories, as well as through operating, maintaining, and observing various activities within the Plant Factory. Some examples of such advantages include their closed system and its ability to control various environmental parameters to optimize plant growth consistently throughout their growth cycle, as well as the high quality and clean plants that are produced. Some disadvantages include the high initial cost and operating cost of Plant Factories, and the various challenges and problem that are encountered with Plant Factories specifically. Further recommendation are provided, to potentially solve these challenges and issues that are encountered in all Plant Factories, and to understand the necessary obstacles that need to be overcome for Plant Factories to be widely adopted in the future. |
| Year | 2023 |
| Type | Internship Report |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural Systems and Engineering (ASE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Datta, Avishek; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Himanshu, Sushil Kumar;Zulfiqar, Farhad; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government (RTG); |
| Degree | Internship report (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2023 |