Episode Summary

Join Harry Duran, host of Vertical Farming Podcast, as he welcomes to the show Agricultural Officer at FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Melvin Medina. The FAO is an organization that is striving for zero hunger, a sustainable planet and a future of food for all. In this episode, Harry and Melvin talk about Melvin’s passion for horticulture, the numerous roles Melvin has held in the AgTech industry and the impactful work Melvin has done in Jamaica, Tanzania, Cambodia and Italy. They touch on specific projects Melvin and his team have worked on throughout the years as well as the message Melvin would like to leave about the future of AgTech and vertical farming.

Episode Sponsor

Ceres Greenhouse Solutions

Key Takeaways

• 
  
• 03:22 – Harry welcomes to the show Melvin Medina, who shares his passion for horticulture and how he initially got involved in AgTech  
• 
  
• 
  
• 10:02 – Melvin recalls the decision to join Fintrac and the work he did building greenhouses in Jamaica
• 
  
• 
  
• 15:02 – Challenges Melvin and his team faced in constructing greenhouses in an area where hurricanes are commonplace
• 
  
• 
  
• 17:46 – Other projects Melvin worked on during his time at Fintrac
• 
  
• 
  
• 20:43 – Melvin discusses the culture shock he experienced while working in places such as Tanzania and Cambodia
• 
  
• 
  
• 24:04 – Melvin opens up about the challenges of raising a family while traveling so extensively for work and what eventually led his to FAO
• 
  
• 
  
• 28:38 – Melvin discusses the common issues he sees among farmers across the globe and what opportunities he sees for technology to address these issues
• 
  
• 
  
• 38:42 – Melvin provides a brief history of FAO, their mission and the important work they do
• 
  
• 
  
• 42:08 – Melvin speaks to how the global pandemic has affected how we all view agriculture and the overall supply of food
• 
  
• 
  
• 44:31 – Melvin speculates on the future of his career and shares a message with the overall community about AgTech
• 
  
• 
  
• 48:59 – Harry thanks Melvin for joining the show and let’s listeners know where they can connect with him
• 
  

Tweetable Quotes

“In 2005 I was moved to Jamaica to replicate what we were doing in El Salvador. And it was a great experience because we were establishing the first greenhouses in Jamaica.” (12:36)

“What I wanted to really do was instead of being in one place and assisting farmers in one place, my vision was to be at a place where I could reach more people. And FAO has offered me that opportunity.” (27:07)

“The issues that are common between countries and regions are, for example, the lack of access to funds, the access to high quality extension services.” (29:17) 

“We need these systems to be affordable for small-scale farmers. It will be very good to come up with low-cost systems so farmers can afford to invest in these systems without losing efficiency.” (33:17)

“I have seen farmers growing crops on their adapted systems, even low cost systems. And they are able to send their kids to school. They are able to pay for better healthcare services. And they are able to buy better and more food. So it’s possible.” (38:01)

“I think during this pandemic the world has realized the importance of food and the supply of food.” (42:37)

Links Mentioned

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Website

Melvin’s Division: Plant Production & Protection Division

Melvin’s LinkedIn

🎙️🎙️🎙️

Podcast Production and Marketing by FullCast: https://bit.ly/3sxZ34y

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mentioned in this episode:

2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews

2025 Precision Ag Report

2025 Precision Ag Report by iGrowNews

2025 Precision Ag Report

$680 million poured into precision ag last year.

Autonomous weeding robots dominated, and John Deere made 2 acquisitions in 3

months. A food company, not an equipment maker, bought a

robotics startup to protect its own supply chain. The deals are

accelerating, the money is moving, and the winners are already separating from the

pack. If you're investing, building, or buying in this space,

you need the full picture before your competitors get it. The 2025

Precision Agriculture Intelligence Report from iGrow News is now

available. Get your copy today at

igrownews.com/precision. I have seen

farmers growing crops on their adapted systems,

even low-cost systems, and they are able to send the

kids to school. They are able to pay for better

healthcare services, and they are able to buy

better and more food. It's possible. And being in El

Salvador, I have seen farmers that they prefer to

continue working in, in the farm, invest,

expand.

Welcome to the Vertical Farming Podcast, weekly conversations with

fascinating CEOs, founders, and agtech visionaries.

Join us every week as we dive deep into the world of vertical

farming with your host, Harry Duran.

Vertical Farming Podcast Season 2, welcome back. If this is your first time listening,

I'm so honored that you chose this podcast

and this specific episode to enter the world of the Vertical

Farming Podcast. It's the show where I interview fascinating CEOs,

founders of the leading vertical farming companies from around the world.

My name is Harry Duran, and in case you missed last week's show, I had

a great conversation. The first with a not specifically

founder of a vertical farming company, but actually

someone who has a bunch of different skill

sets. It's Kyle Barnett, and he's the founder of a site called

Ponic Jobs and the co-host of the Crop Talk podcast.

We have a wide-ranging conversation on all things

hydroponics and all the different interests that Kyle has.

It's been a very well-rounded show. Thanks for having me. received episode, so make sure

you check that one out if you haven't listened to it. This week, I speak

to Melvin Medina. He's the Agricultural Officer at FAO, which is the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This

episode is brought to you by Ceres Greenhouse Solutions. If you're looking for a

greenhouse solution that will suit your specific climate and growing goals,

then talk to an expert from Ceres Greenhouse Solutions. Ceres

combines passive solar concepts, innovative climate control technologies,

and customized grow systems to ensure that their growers are yielding the highest

quality product year-round for the lowest operational cost. Visit

Ceres Greenhouse Solutions, that's

ceresgreenhousesolutions.com, to

learn more. FAO is an organization that is striving for

zero hunger, a sustainable planet, and a future of food for all. We talk about

Melvin's passion for horticulture, the numerous roles Melvin has had in the agtech

industry, and the impactful work he's done in Jamaica,

Tanzania, Cambodia, and Italy, just to name some of the few places he's

been. It's a virtual tour around the globe. in this

episode. We touch on specific projects he and his team have worked on throughout the

years, and the message Melvin would like to leave about the

future of agtech and vertical farming. I learned a lot about

FAO and all the good things that they're doing in this sector,

and fascinating and inspiring to hear Melvin's journey.

So pay attention, there's a lot of great

takeaways from this episode. By the way, if you haven't already, please subscribe

to the Vertical Farming Weekly Newsletter for weekly updates on all things

happening the world of vertical farming, and there you'll also be notified

when new episodes are available. Melvin Medina, Agricultural

Officer at FAO, which is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the

United Nations, thank you for joining us on the Vertical Farming Podcast.

Thanks to you for inviting me and be part of this

movement. Thank you. I'm wondering if you have

listened to podcasts or if it's something that you've been using

to consume or learn about content recently. Yes, actually,

I have listened to some of the contributions

from other colleagues in the past. And yes, not all of them,

but yeah. Yeah. We were talking a little bit about how we

were— sometimes you discover these things after the fact, but we were both born in

El Salvador, which is sometimes a small world.

But I'm interested in just going back, winding the clock back a little

bit. When you started, when you were in high school and university,

were these Did you see yourself working in, in this industry back

then? Were those things that were of interest to you, like, um,

this topic about food and agriculture? Yes. Well,

actually, I studied in the Pan-American School

for Agriculture, Zamorano, in Honduras.

Okay. Where I did my, um, 2 degrees. One

is an agronomist, and the other one was

the Agricultural Engineering, and which is

the equivalent to the bachelor degree. Yeah.

And since the beginning, I, I was

pretty much interested in the horticulture, not much in the

animal science or extensive crops,

but I really liked the, the horticulture,

especially vegetables. And,

and this is how I became let's say, more interested

in this type of crops. But then

fortunately, after graduation, I got a

job in this area of work. Do you remember

where that passion or that interest or that

curiosity for horticulture began? Yes.

Well, actually, I liked the—

maybe the fact that these type of crops are

short crops. cycle. And they

did these type of crops, they have a lot of— they are

affected by many pests and diseases.

And so it was a challenge for

farmers to be able to produce vegetables, especially in

tropical areas, because I was studying in Honduras, but then I

went back to El Salvador. Mm-hmm. And

Being in a tropical country with 6 months of

rain, it was challenging to be able to

produce here year-round. And, um,

but then I discovered the, the world of protected cultivation

systems where in the tropics,

if you know how to adapt the system, you can

produce year-round.

I mean, like, with higher yields and less problems

compared to the open field systems. And

what were some of the early technologies or systems

that you started working with where you saw

the potential for what was possible in controlled agriculture systems?

Yeah, well, I got a job in this farm which was the most

let's say, advanced farm in the country at that

time. And

we were growing fruits and vegetables. There were

around 100 hectares for pineapples,

but also mango and avocado. And I was in charge of

the production and packaging of vegetables.

So this was my first job. And— Was that the

job at Fusades? Yes. Yeah, okay.

Yes, that was the Salvadoran

Foundation for Economic and Social Development. Okay.

And well, after a few months, I, I

realized that growing in the open field— we used to have

20 hectares under open field for

vegetables with crops like sweet corn, watermelons,

green beans, melons. And then I

was also in charge for 1 hectare of greenhouses where

tomatoes, bell peppers, lettuce were

cultivated using a soilless culture. Hmm. So

that was my first contact with the soil-free systems, and

I had the opportunity to see the differences between

open field and protected cultivation systems in terms of

quality efficiency and the production levels.

Did you notice anything different in terms of the taste as

well of the vegetables or the varieties you could create?

Yeah, well, I would say more the

differences that I saw was more

related to first efficiency in

the use of water, fertilizers compared to the

open field. but also in the

efficiency of controlling pests and diseases.

Because, you know, with the plastic, with the nets,

we used to spray much less than in the open fields,

which this gives you a reduction in the

use of chemical pesticides and

increase the efficiency in the biological control agents.

In terms of quality, yes,

because I was also in charge of the packing of these

vegetables, and we used to supply supermarkets.

And most of the rejections came from, from the open

field product— products. So,

yeah, so the, the one of the main differences was

in terms of quality, because the Up

to 95% of the produce coming from protected

cultivation system was accepted by the market,

and this was one of the main reasons. What's the percentage for

open field? What I can tell you is that 80%

of the total rejections was coming from the produce

cultivated in open fields. And then from there, you started—

can you tell us about how you made the transition to starting to work

at FinTrac? And for the listener as well, explain what the organization is.

Yes. Before that, I established and installed my own

greenhouses to produce tomato and sweet

pepper in low-cost greenhouse systems, I mean, using

local materials. So actually,

and I started to produce and sell as a

private business. So I was really becoming a

farmer. And after a

few crop cycles, I got a visit from a person from

ThinkTrack, which is a company implementing

projects based in Washington, D.C. So they

were implementing this project in El Salvador after the

earthquakes in 2001. And they

asked me if I was willing to help

them. To do or

to replicate what I was doing in my farm, but with the

small-scale farmers in different locations in El Salvador.

And I— something came to me and I said, yes, of

course, this is what I want to do. I want to share my knowledge, I

want to share my experiences. And, um, and

that is where I started to work with them. So I used to

travel to different locations in El Salvador. Do you

know how they found you? Well, they were looking for advanced

farmers and they found me because El Salvador is a small

country. Yeah, yeah. They offered

me this job that in the beginning was part-time,

but then because of the requirement of

providing technical assistance to farmers from the

construction to to harvest, going through the whole

production process, needed an agronomist to visit

them and provide technical assistance, then I was

hired full-time. And you were there for

how long? 3 years? No, well, actually, with

the company, I, I worked with them

15 years in total, but in El Salvador

was from 2002 to 2005

because then they got a new project in Jamaica, which

was called the Jamaica Recovery Program

after hurricane. Don't remember exactly the name of that

hurricane. Mm-hmm. So in 2005, I was

moved to Jamaica to replicate what we were doing in El

Salvador. And it was really a very good experience

because we were establishing the first greenhouses in

Jamaica. Wow. Yes, so we selected—

What was the most surprising thing for you when you arrived in

Jamaica? I know there could be similarities, but I'm wondering what

was the most surprising thing for you when you arrived? Well, it was

my first time out of my country, and

I have to say that I didn't speak English.

So When I arrived in Jamaica

without speaking English, it was challenging. But when

they offered me a translator and I say, no,

this is my opportunity to learn English. And

so after a few months, I was speaking

English with a Jamaican accent.

And well, it's not the best place to learn

English. Yeah. Because of the local dialect.

But, um, it was, it was good. It was good. Um, I mean,

it was surprising the, the prices, for example, for the products.

For 1 kilo of tomato, 1 kilo of sweet pepper,

of lettuce, comparing to the prices in El Salvador, it was

extremely high. And we had a good experience

because, well, good, then In

2005, we got 2 or 3 tropical storms and

I think 1 hurricane again. And the farmers

who were having something to sell were

our farmers growing crops in the greenhouses.

Wow. So the rest of the country was totally destroyed in the open

field. And that helped it to have a bigger

impact. Because then everybody wants to have a

greenhouse. And if you see now, my

farmers, the ones that I was providing technical assistance,

the first ones are the leads now in the country.

They are all providing technical

assistance, trainings, not only in

Jamaica but also in the Caribbean.

So now you can find maybe more than 300 greenhouses in the country.

Well, I'm wondering what type of challenges or

differences in construction you have to take into

account for when you're building a greenhouse in an

environment that is susceptible to hurricanes. I wonder if you

need to make something a little different than you would in a place that doesn't

get them. Oh, definitely. We were

at the beginning using wood.

because we believed that the wood was going to be the

cheapest type of material for constructing the

greenhouses, but this material was imported.

So it was almost the same price of metal frames.

Mm-hmm. So that was one of the things that we learned.

And actually, then there was the discussion

about the design, which is the best design for

Jamaica, For, you know, against

hurricane, they wanted to have a hurricane-proof,

but it doesn't exist really. What you have to do is just to

have some preventative measures, like removing the

plastic, removing the nets, because it's better

to lose the crop, but not to lose the

structure. Very good point. But if you don't remove that,

then you're going to lose everything. And we had some

experiences and I have some reports that are— because after I

went there a couple of years after to do an

assessment and I could see that after a hurricane,

some of the wooden structures were still standing up and

some of the metal imported from Israel were totally

destroyed. So it was about what to do and

when to do these preventative measures.

It must have been a good feeling for you, and even now as you look

back, to see the impact that you had.

Because when you arrived, there was nothing like that there, and now you've created

a whole ecosystem of people who learned from you

and now are passing on what they learned from you onto the next generation.

So it must be a good feeling to see how your legacy is

now lived on in Jamaica. No, definitely.

Just to give an example, right now in FAO, we have a

project which is going to be implemented in 4 different islands

in the Caribbean. It's going to be on protected

cultivation systems, the small islands.

And one of the international consultants that

we are going to use is one of my first farmers in Jamaica

because he is the best. I mean, he's— Hmm. He has been traveling

around the the region, and I must say he's really good.

So can you talk maybe about one of the other projects you worked on

at FinTrac after you started to move away from the work you were doing in

Jamaica? Yes, after Jamaica, I got this call

to go to Tanzania, and

Tanzania is an amazing place with huge

potential to grow vegetables. Because of the altitude

above sea level in some areas in the country, is a huge

country. But so the FinTech got this, this project,

and they called me to go and do an assessment and see the

potential for to establish again

low-cost greenhouses. And then we

established 10, 10 different, in 10 different

locations for small-scale farmers. And they

started to grow slowly, not as fast as in

Jamaica, because Jamaica farmers are—

I mean, they have more fans and they have more money

to invest than the farmers in

Tanzania. And one of the main challenges is to have enough

funds to invest in these type of

systems. But yes, it has been growing. one of

the main issues in Tanzania was the market

transportation in general, because the areas

where we were growing the crops were maybe

6 hours driving to the main markets in the

cities. So we were not prepared to—

for these type of issues. But at the end of the day, we

consolidated with the Open Field

farmers because this program was not only in greenhouses

but also open field. So we— there was a lot of

work in terms of marketing. Then I, I got, uh,

this, another call to go to Cambodia, and

I stayed, um, 6 years in Cambodia.

But then Cambodia was totally different. Wow. And it was good because I

was going like too

specialized in the greenhouses and protect the

cultivation systems. But in Cambodia,

it was totally the opposite. It was everything in the open field in a

very difficult environment around the Tonlé Sap

Lake where you are at sea level,

heat, high humidity, high temperatures all year round.

So we were not able to do any greenhouse

there. So it was everything about open field

systems, which really helped me to go

back to the basics, to see a lot of different experiences with

many different crops. And let's say

stop for a while on these greenhouse

systems. Yeah.

Can you talk a little bit about all the experiences you've had? Because, you know,

it must've been something, at least El Salvador, to

Jamaica, there's still a bit of the, like, the Caribbean, like some of the,

maybe, you know, the culture is, you know, some overlap, not too much. But

then when you go to places now, you go to Tanzania and now you're going

to Cambodia, was it a bit of a culture shock for you or did you

have time to, you know, get a feel for what the culture was like

in these different places? No, definitely the culture

is totally different. I mean, I must say that

I mean, I have enjoyed working in Tanzania as well as in

Cambodia. Just like they're different culture.

Cambodia, for example, everything is fresh.

Marketing is not an issue because there's a lot

of food available. And this is

part of their culture. They like to eat fresh food,

fresh vegetables. And this is something that

I realized when I was there, coming from Tanzania

where food in some places

is not available. Some areas, I remember when I was

in some very remote areas

where you can travel 3 hours without any— you

don't see any house, any restaurant or anywhere to

eat. And you still drive and drive and drive

and you can't see anything, just maybe wild animals.

But in Cambodia was totally different. It's a population

is higher than— I mean, more the

population is, the density is higher than in countries

like Tanzania. So you find many, many

places, restaurants and Everyone is cooking

food because they like to eat a lot of fresh food.

So that makes farmers to sell almost everything

they produce at the farm gate. And that

was one of the main impacts that I got from one

country to another and the different types of

vegetables. Did you have any opportunities to

do any sightseeing in Cambodia? And there's a, I know there's a lot of

beautiful temples there as well, and it's one of, One of the places that's on

my list to visit someday. Oh, definitely. I mean, I was living in

Siem Reap, 5 kilometers from Angkor Wat,

from the Angkor temples, and it's amazing, really, I can

tell you. Yeah, and also the, the people is

just amazing, friendly. My daughter was born

there and we have very good friends,

schools. The price, I

mean, the cost of living is very low comparing to other

countries. No, it's a beautiful place, really.

Yeah, a lot of places to discover. And I guess

the most important is the people, very nice, very friendly.

And that makes you really

feel good, especially when you are with your family.

And right now we, we are thinking about going back to visit

some of the friends that we left there. Can you talk a little bit,

because, about the challenges or the

adventures of raising and having a family

while you're doing all these traveling, all these different countries? Like, when you're solo, you

know, obviously it sounds very exotic. You just throw a backpack on and you can

just travel the world. But I'm wondering how you you thought

about that? And I imagine it's a conversation you had early on in your relationship,

but what were some of the challenges, if there were

any, about raising a family and then being in these

different locations all the time? Yeah, definitely. Well, when I

arrived in Cambodia, I was alone. My wife and

my son were in Spain. You can imagine being in

Spain and Cambodia, there's a huge difference.

And so when I told them that I was going to go to Cambodia, everybody

was talking, well, saying, so why, why, why

you're going there? But then when I arrived, I mean, it's one of

the most peaceful places that you can be

safe. And so then I told my

wife, okay, come with me, you will see it. And then she

came, she saw the environment, she loved it. Oh,

she's a Buddhist. So Buddhist, being a

Buddhist in a Buddhist country. Oh, that helps. But I must

say that she's very open. She likes to travel and she is

very easy to adapt, like myself. And, uh, and then,

um, our kids are the same. I must say they are

very easy to adapt. Now we are in Italy. We have

been here 3 years. This is my 4th year

in Rome. And yeah, we are very easy to adapt, and I

guess all kids are the same. I think what's

fascinating and really interesting is when kids

see their parents or are raised in an environment where

they're introduced to so many different cultures, they

automatically assume that this is how families are and this is what

life is, and they're open to new possibilities. And it feels

like you're almost teaching them that It's great and

it's nice to have a sense of adventure in life and to just, you know,

and be open to new possibilities. And I imagine, I don't know if you're seeing

that already in them, I don't know how old they are, but I think your

experiences, I'm pretty sure, have shown them. No, definitely.

For example, my son last year, he asked me, how long

are we going to stay in Rome, in Italy, and where are we going to

go after? That's very nice. And

so now that the timeline gets us into you connecting

with the group at FAO. So did they find you or did

you find them? No, no, I

applied for a position in Rome. Well, actually I

applied 2 or 3 times and I

think the 3rd time I got the interview

and I got the position. It was a long process,

but what I wanted to really do was

instead of being in one place, helping

farmers, let's say, or assisting farmers in one location

at a time. My vision or my objective

was to be in a place or in a company

organization where I could reach more people.

And FAO has provided me the

opportunity to be in one location

but helping many farmers around the world. Right now,

I have been assisting, just to give an example, in

my first 3 years in FAO, I have been assisting

countries around more than 60

countries, 60 different countries around the world in Latin

America, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East,

Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.

So it's really what I wanted to do, and it's a

really big accomplishment for my professional

and personal objectives because

right now I am able to help and assist

different farmers in different locations, different regions,

different countries with different climatic

conditions, which is something that I was not For example,

it was my first time to assist farmers

in Central Asia. I'm curious,

now that you've had experience with farmers

now from across the world, because it was just a couple of countries when you

were first getting started, what are you finding is the common thread

in terms of farmers' needs, farmers' concerns, now that

you've had a chance to experience them from You know, various parts of the world?

Well, I think there are some

similarities and some differences

in different regions and different cultures. But just to give you

some examples, what I have seen in the,

the issues that are common between countries

and regions are, for example, the lack of access to

funds. For funding to start the

business, for investment. Another one

is the access to high-quality extension services

and also proper

pest diseases, soil, water, nutrient

management. This is what I have seen, and

that is like common in between different regions

and countries. But there are also

other more specifics depending on the region where you are.

Just in Latin America, for example, there seems to be

technical capacities, a very good technical capacity, but

the lack of investments by small-scale farmers.

And in other regions, there might be more

possibilities for private investments

But maybe these countries are located in the

dry environments where crop production is more challenging.

So I must say that some of the

differences are related to the climate in

each region. Tropical countries

are more or less having the same issues, high temperatures,

high humidities, and then The challenges are

there, those, how to manage that. But

if you go to the Middle East, North

Africa, where you have maybe 100

millimeters of rain, there is another, and

that's another issue. But in general,

I think farmers need support, technical assistance.

Addressing how to manage climate,

how to improve genetic materials,

seeds, high-quality seeds, irrigation,

water management, how to apply fertilizers,

when to apply fertilizers,

as well as cultural practices, plant densities,

pruning, And of course, how to

manage and control pests and diseases.

This is pretty much what I have seen between different

regions and countries. Obviously, those

challenges lend themselves to being

solved through a controlled environment agriculture, right?

Because if you don't have the pests, if you can

control or protect yourself from the elements,

which you saw in your early days with doing the greenhouses in

Jamaica and El Salvador, you get more control

over your crops. And so I'm wondering what

opportunities you see. And obviously, we think a lot about

vertical farming here on this podcast and greenhouses and some of the hybrids

we've seen as well. So in your times and your time at FAO,

what have you seen that could be helpful in terms of the new

technologies that are coming available to help with some of these challenges?

Well, definitely we are promoting protected cultivation systems

in my division, the Plant Production and Protection

Division in FAO. Since I arrived there, I have

been trying to promote as much as possible the protected cultivation systems,

and that includes greenhouses, methouses,

hydroponic systems, vertical farming, and

soilless culture in general, because we know that

increase the efficiency and the use of land and water.

And also provides resilience against climate change,

as well as increasing the efficiency and controlling the pests and

diseases because you are in a controlled environment. I must

say that we need these systems to be

affordable for small-scale farmers,

and it will be very good to come

up with systems that are low-cost systems. So

farmers can afford to

invest in this type of cropping systems

without losing the efficiency. We have some

projects, we have some experiences in the organization

with the vertical farming in urban and peri-urban areas

to deliver fresh produce, taking advantage of

proximity to the cities. So, but

also, it's very important to have technical

assistance and training on crop production and protection

under vertical farming or protected cultivation systems in

general. And one of the main

challenges is the finance for initial investment, because we

know that these type of systems are are

not cheap, but I think

between the private sector and organizations,

NGOs, and their research in academia, we should

come out with something that is going to be efficient but

also affordable. And this is what I guess our

efforts need to be focusing on in the next few

years. Do you feel that it's important that if you

are going to have success in bringing the cost down, that's an important thing too?

Because I think a lot of the focus and attention when it comes to

things like greenhouses and vertical farming technologies is all the investment going into

building these high-tech buildings that cost a lot of money

to build and it costs a lot of money to develop. And there is a

learning curve because it's not something you can just give an open field

farmer and then place them in a container farm,

or maybe a greenhouse is easier, but even like a vertical farm, and assume

that everything is going to be the same because there's a bit of a learning

curve with understanding what some of that technology is and

how to best use it for its maximum capacity. So do you see FAO

looking to help create some of these systems or

partner with existing companies and join

forces together to help build these and make them more affordable?

Yes. Well, just to give an example of what some of

the mistakes that I have seen in different countries

is, for example, when the farmers want to bring

systems from Europe, from the United States, from developed

countries. So they actually, they buy the

system, they want to install it in a tropical country where the

conditions are totally different. And, well, number

one, Those systems are expensive. Those

systems are not adapted to the local conditions.

And the people who is operating those systems don't

have the training. So when you put all these things

together, then you see after some time, you see them

abandoned. And this is a very common thing because it's like a

recipe. You are buying a recipe. Even the

They sell the substrates, they sell you the

fertilizers, the seeds, everything. It's like a kit.

So when you open the box, then you just have to

start to install everything and that's it. But that does— it

doesn't work. And I have seen many mistakes and

just— so no, we— that— I think that approach,

it doesn't work. So what we want to do in the organization is

to come up with adapted but affordable systems.

And for that, right now, with the new management, the organization is

very open to have partnerships with the private sector.

In the next years, we are expecting to have more

partnerships and come up with adapted

systems for small-scale farmers in different countries.

We know it's possible because we have done it before. As I have

been mentioning you, during the, this talk.

So we have to do something similar, and but we need the private

sector input suppliers. We need

also research and academia to come together and come up

with something that is going to be really efficient but

profitable, because at the end of the day, we want

farmers to make money to improve the livelihoods. And I

I can tell you that I have seen that. I have seen farmers growing

crops under adapted systems, even low-cost

systems. Yeah. And they are able to send the kids to school,

they are able to pay for better healthcare services,

and they are able to buy better and more food. So

it's possible. Yeah, and being in El Salvador, I have seen

farmers that they have— they prefer to continue

working in the farm, invest, expand,

instead of going to United States as an immigrant.

And that has— I'm sure that's, uh, something that gives you hope

that there's, there's a way forward. Like, for the benefit of the

listener and, and anyone who may not know about FAO, can you

give some history about the organization? I mean, you— it's

almost a testament to how each eager you were to partner with them because you

applied 3 times. So it's something that was a goal for you,

and I'm wondering if you could talk a little bit about the origins of

FAO, what the FAO's mission is as well.

Well, this— the FAO is, well, as you know, is the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations. It was founded in,

I'm not sure the year,

1945. 1940-something, but it was

mainly the main source of knowledge.

Actually, in the past, if you wanted to know something

about irrigation, soil

management, or pest and disease management,

the main source of information was

FAO. Many, many publications

high-quality publications. And one of the things that the

organization has is the transparency,

because we are not selling any— we are not

selling irrigation systems, we are not selling fertilizers,

we are selling knowledge. Well, and this is important.

So being able to work

everywhere in the world, I must say, because we

have almost 200 member countries.

That gives you the opportunity to really have a big

impact. So our mission is to

assist countries. We have many

different projects and many of them are addressing the

requests from countries. And our mandate

is to assist countries to address

their own issues. Can be food security,

food safety, food systems, crop

production, crop protection. The organization is so big.

We have a nutrition division because it's related

to the food, economic, statistic. So it's

a really big organization, I must say.

Only in Rome we have around 3,000 persons

working for the organization, only in headquarters.

So it's really big. And in this decade, these

days that we are trying to accomplish the

SDGs by

2030, I think FAO

plays a very important role. What's interesting about what's

happened over this past year Is that I imagine

for someone like you, seeing what COVID

exposed in terms of supply chains, access to

food, access to fresh food, food deserts, these were

things that were top of mind for you decades and years ago,

long time. You knew that this was— you're preparing

for hurricanes in Jamaica. And so

these are conversations you're having on a regular basis. the impact of

natural events and things like pandemics. I imagine

it's almost probably the way you think, like, how do we prepare for the

worst? And so I'm wondering what your take has been

to see that almost like the rest of the world was

realizing, people who had not thought of this issue or problem

are now thinking about it and you don't have to convince them and you don't

have to sell them on this idea because— Everybody knows, everybody knows

how bad it can be. And so, I'm wondering what that's done

for you and how— if that's made your work

easier or more interesting. Yeah, no,

definitely. I think during this pandemic, the world has

realized the importance of food and the

supply. You know, when you are

eating your food in your plate, you never think about Where

is that food coming from? And I think now people are

starting to think about, okay, I mean, how many

efforts are made for your food to be on your plate?

But also that includes transportation.

And, you know, this is what now they

are talking about, the food systems, the importance of

the food systems, which is which includes not only

producers but also all the actors,

including the consumers. So I think the

importance of food and agriculture in

general is now highlighted during these

times. For us, I mean, in my case,

it has been very difficult because not being able to travel

to assist countries in the field. And trying to do everything

virtual is a challenge because some things you can do

virtual, but other things you can't. You have to go and see

people in the field and do your job in the field. But anyway,

hopefully soon everything's going to be going

back to normal. Well, it's really fascinating to hear

your journey and where, you know, I don't know if you, you

knew where you were headed or where you would end up when you started this

in El Salvador and, and all the different places it would take you and all

the different people you would meet. And I imagine,

you know, working for an organization like FAO is probably something that you had on

your mind for a long time because it feels like the place where you can

have the greatest impact for the type of work that you want to do. So

is there anything else on your, what they call the bucket list, of like

other organizations maybe you want to work with or things you want to get

accomplished as you think about your future? No, well, actually, I mean,

I, at the beginning, I wanted to have some experience in the private sector, of

course, because it's important. You, I don't think coming to

FAO without having field and, yeah,

private sector experience is good. So after

15, 17 years working in the field with a private company

implementing field projects in different countries,

I thought it was a good time to come to the organization and contribute.

But yes, that was always in my mind, working in the

development world and share as

much as possible knowledge, experiences, and

help to reduce poverty and hunger. That was my

main objective coming from country where we

see people going to bed without having dinner.

So yeah, now I really feel happy to be

where I am, and hopefully I will have

opportunities to grow within the organization and have a bigger

impact. So as we wrap up, again, I want to thank you for

taking the time to share your story. Very inspirational. This

is a very industry-specific show, and so we talk to people who

are making names at some of the biggest companies in vertical farming.

I think what I'd like to ask is, is there an ask that you have

for this community? You know, I'm sure you have a pretty good list

of connections with some of the people at these companies, but, uh, there are

people listening. And is there anything you can think of that would be

helpful in terms of a connection or a conversation or

a project you have coming up that you just want to share more news

about? No, I mean, we are having many projects in the organization,

and some of them are including the

vertical farming systems, but others are

in general protected cultivation systems, including greenhouses,

net houses. We have different projects in the—

and right now we're going to implement projects in

Vietnam, Uzbekistan, in the Caribbean, other

countries. We have had some experiences in the past, the

vertical farming systems for strawberry in Gaza. Wow.

We have some in Central America. We are

having some experiences growing fodder

in Syria and low-cost

hydroponic fodder in Sudan. So as you can see,

we have many projects because you can imagine

almost 200 country members having each

country a lot of projects. But it will be good

to use this opportunity and tell the

community that we are now open for

partnerships with the private sector, but also

to tell that FAO's mandate is

mainly to work with Small-scale farmers.

So if you are talking about

sustainability with the small-scale farmers, we

really need to come up with something that is going to be affordable,

but also efficient and profitable. So

what I would like to tell the community is that we are working in

this direction, and if we can come up with something like addressing

all these factors, it will be really good. because we don't

want to lose the efficiency because of the cost. But I know

it's possible. We just need to bring a lot of people

to get different opinions and also to tell

the community that the systems have to be adapted

to the local conditions. Different climates, different

type of systems. And normally all this

research and investment are done in developed countries,

not in the developing countries. So we

need more investment to do research in

developing countries and try to address the

issues that tropical countries or drylands

areas are having. Thank you. So we'll

make sure we get the word out when we publish this episode.

So I want to thank you again for taking the time. I really enjoyed this

conversation. It was a nice surprise to be having a

conversation with a fellow Salvadorian as well. So thank you for

sharing your story. Where's the best place for listeners to

connect, learn more about FAO, and to connect with you? Oh, well, we have the

FAO website, and particularly my division

is the Plant Production and Protection Division, where if you

search on Google, the Plant Production and Protection

Division, of FAO, where you will find

our website. And of course, you are

always welcome to contact me directly. And we'll make sure we

include all that information in the show notes for this episode as well. If you're

listening, you'll be able to see that in the description for this. So thanks again,

Melvin. I hope you have a fantastic weekend in Rome.

No, thanks to you, Harry. It was a pleasure to share

my experiences. And, um, yes, I'm— we

are here whenever you come to Rome. Let me know. Thanks again to Melvin

for sharing his story. Very inspiring. Learned a

lot. Look into the work that FAO is doing if you haven't done

so already. Full show notes available at

verticalfarmingpodcast.com. Special thanks to our episode

sponsors, Ceres Greenhouse Solutions. Ceres is creating

sustainable growing and environments by combining smart design, innovative

technology, and dynamic partnerships. Learn more at

ceresgs.com. That's

ceresgs.com. Podcast production and

marketing provided by Fullcast. Sign up for a free podcast brainstorm at fullcast.co/chat15.

2 important takeaways. If you haven't already, make sure you're subscribed at verticalfarmingpodcast.com,

and there you'll also be able to sign up for our Vertical Farming Weekly

Newsletter. It's a recap of the weekly news in the world of

vertical farming, and we also notify you of any new episodes as

well. Next week, great conversation, my first with 2

co-founders. It's with Alexander Olesen and Graham Smith of Babylon

Microforms. If you're enjoying this show, please leave us a rating and a review at

ratethispodcast.com/vfp. We'll be

sure to read those out on future episodes. Until we meet again,

here's to your health. Thanks for listening. To read the full show

notes for this episode, which includes any links mentioned in the

episode, as well as a full show transcription, visit

verticalfarmingpodcast.com. There, you can sign

up for our email list to be notified when new episodes are published.

$680 million poured into precision ag last year.

Autonomous weeding robots dominated. And John Deere made 2 acquisitions in 3

months. A food company, not an equipment maker, bought a

robotics startup to protect its own supply chain. The deals are

accelerating, the money is moving, and the winners are already separating from the

pack. If you're investing, building, or buying in this space,

you need the full picture before your competitors get it. The 2025

Precision Agriculture Intelligence Report from iGrow News is

now available. Get your copy today at

igrownews.com/precision.