Montel Inc., Canada's leading manufacturer of high-density mobile systems, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with researchers from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) to support the development of a groundbreaking pollinator-independent indoor berry production.
This initiative is made possible through major support from the Weston Family Foundation, via the Homegrown Innovation Challenge Scaling Phase, which invests in innovative Canadian solutions to enable reliable, year-round berry production.
As part of this collaboration, Montel will build and host a dedicated pilot farm named MoFarm, where TMU's new airflow-based pollination technology will be tested and evaluated under controlled, real-world growing conditions.
A National Effort to Reinvent Food Production
In June 2025, TMU researchers Professor Habiba Bougherara and Professor Lesley Campbell were awarded a grant that will provide up to $5 million to advance their work on a novel system that enables raspberries -- and potentially other berries -- to be grown indoors without bees. Their innovation centers on a patented airflow and microclimate system capable of autonomously transferring pollen between flowers, addressing one of the most persistent challenges in controlled-environment agriculture.
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