Mapo District Completes Four Smart Farms on Rooftops and Parking Lots

Harvested Produce Supplied to Hyodo Table and Welfare Facilities

Mapo District in Seoul has established four smart farms utilizing the ground level of public parking lots and the rooftops of local community centers, and will hold a completion ceremony on April 2. Following the first facility set up on the first floor of the district office in 2023, the total number of smart farms in Mapo District has now increased to five with this latest completion.

Park Gangsoo, Mayor of Mapo District, and children are observing vegetables grown in the smart farm inside the government building. Provided by Mapo District.

The main facility is the "Smart Farm Experience Center" located on the ground level of Mangwon 1-2 Public Parking Lot in Mangwon-dong (10 Poeun-ro 6-gil). With a total floor area of approximately 240 square meters, it combines a vertical plant factory with a smart greenhouse. Through indoor and outdoor environmental control, leafy vegetables such as butterhead and Kaipira, as well as strawberries and cherry tomatoes, can be produced year-round regardless of the season or weather. In the vertical farm, harvesting takes place approximately every six weeks. The experience center will be opened to residents after a trial operation period.

Additionally, smart farms of about 50 square meters each have been established on the rooftops of community centers in three neighborhoods: Ahyeon-dong, Seogang-dong, and Yeonnam-dong. These focus on cultivating leafy vegetables and are designed to minimize the impact of external environmental conditions, ensuring stable production.

The harvested produce is supplied as healthy ingredients to Mapo District's signature program "Hyodo Table" and to social welfare facilities. Smart farms, which combine artificial intelligence (AI) with agriculture, are considered a future industry that enables stable crop production regardless of climate change. Through this project, the district aims to increase residents' interest and participation in urban agriculture.

Kangsuu Park, Mayor of Mapo District, stated, "We have created a foundation for residents to directly experience future-oriented agriculture by utilizing idle spaces in the city," adding, "We will continue to improve the quality of life for our residents through sustainable urban agriculture policies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.