Brazil: Couple transforms food passion into vertical microgreens farm in Florianópolis
Source: VFD.com
Fazendas Bioma cultivates microgreens in a controlled indoor environment, harvesting 1,500 units per week, supplying 95 points of sale, employing nine people, and generating R$ 50 thousand monthly. The vertical farm created by Laíla Ribeiro and Leonardo Corrêa in Florianópolis combines urban agriculture and automation to produce microgreens within the city.
Together, they established Fazendas Bioma, a company that operates in a closed and controlled environment in the state capital. According to a report by Felipe Lessa published by PEGN on September 6, 2026, the business registers a monthly revenue of about R$ 50 thousand, maintains nine employees, and supplies 95 points of sale.
Seven years ago, Laíla and Leonardo decided to leave the fast-paced life of São Paulo to move to Florianópolis, where they intended to start a family.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
