"City farmer" helps Magnet to test cultivation of mushrooms to a shiitaka

2020: Start of the compact plant on cultivation to a shiitaka

The City-fermer company, the resident Klastera of biomedical technologies of Skolkovo Foundation, and retail network "Magnit" started in the test mode the Russia's first compact cultivation plant to a shiitaka. Process control happens completely in the remote mode using artificial intelligence. On October 27, 2020 the Skolkovo Foundation reported about it.

The farm represents a modular pre-fabricated object of 120 sq.m and is set in a mushroom complex of Magnet in Krasnodar Krai. The technology of construction allows to increase the number of modules depending on requirements. From launch till the first harvest there pass no more than two weeks.

The system developed by the Skolkovo company with elements of artificial intelligence in real time supports optimal conditions of cultivation of mushrooms in city farm: manages climatic parameters, operation of sensors and controllers, energy recuperation, etc.

The programmable logic controllers set in a mushroom farm monitor processes and support the accepted technological parameters in the automatic mode. At any deviations a system quickly sends notifications to responsible persons and to the central dispatching office that allows to solve quickly arising problems.

For preserving of the maximum quality gather mushrooms manually, put in trays and at once send to a zone of fast cooling and packaging. At the first stage performance of a farm is nearly 1.5 tons of mushrooms a month.

So far products under the Magnet Freshness brand are delivered only in shops of network of Krasnodar Krai, the Moscow, Leningrad and Tyumen regions. Such volume is enough for making decision on development of the project: experts of the company will estimate demand of a high-quality product at buyers in different regions.

Yulia Krymova, director of the department of category "Vegetables and Fruit" of retail network "Magnit":

We constantly expand our offer in category "fruit vegetables" at the expense of the interesting range and we aim to be differentiated from competitors. Own mushroom complex of the company already makes the range of champignons for shops of network, now we test cultivation to a shiitaka. For October, 2020 all necessary processes as for us this little known direction are fulfilled. We want to look how buyers will apprehend the offer, we will test for this purpose a mini-farm within several months. First of all, we will estimate efficiency on indicators of sales.

For Russia to a shiitaka — exotic mushrooms and commercially are practically not grown up. They are vitamin-rich, amino acids, microelements. Are used in the raw and also are added to soups, salads and garnishes.

The startups which are engaged in creation of city plantations will become fundamentals of agriculture of the future. The City-fermer company is distinguished by agrotechnologies and experience of cultivation of mushrooms to a shiitaka. This product is in steady consumer demand that can provide a project success in the near future.