3.2.1. Lufa Farms in Montreal

Lufa is one of Canada's leading urban agriculture production experiments. It is innovative at several levels. On the one hand, it was a pioneer in the implementation of commercial greenhouses on building roofs [59]. On the other hand, given that it involves the construction of rooftop greenhouses, it mobilizes high-level technologies for both production and management. In 2010, the company built its first greenhouse, with a surface area of 2973 m2, on a disused building located in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville.

Harvesting and delivery of products began in April 2011. In 2013, a second greenhouse of 3995 m2 was built on a roof in Laval. In 2017, a third larger greenhouse (5853 m2) was put into operation in the borough of Anjou. In August 2020, finally, Lufa inaugurated a fourth greenhouse, spanning 15,217 m2, on the roof of a building located in the borough of Saint-Laurent, doubling the productive capacity that the company had reached by then. Altogether, Lufa Farms provides fresh food year-round to nearly 30,000 people. More than fifty varieties of vegetables are produced annually in its four greenhouses (many varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, eggplants, microgreens, basil and Swiss chard, among others). The production is conducted in accordance with the requirements of organic agriculture, that is, without pesticides, using biocontrol (the use of beneficial insects to combat pests) alongside rational use of water and electricity.

Lufa relies on a very complex computerized system run by the Argus Titan software, designed for facilities management in protected environments such as agricultural greenhouses (The company that markets this system is located in British Columbia. See http://arguscontrols.com/about-argus/system-applications/ accessed on 23 July 2021). This application manages parameters such as temperature, humidity, light, CO2 level, air exchange and circulation, snow loads, rain and wind protection. In addition, the system takes into account the protection of buildings and crops.
