U.S.: leafy greens first, then cannabis for NYSE-listed company
A New York Stock Exchange-listed investment company has teamed up with two partners to develop vertical farming facilities for organic leafy green vegetables, in anticipation of supporting cannabis cultivation once clearer legal frameworks are established for the crop. 
Maryland-based India Globalization Capital Inc (NYSE: IGC) has entered into an agreement with TerraSphere Systems and Greenlife Ventures, and will build multiple facilities using TerraSphere's advanced pesticide free organic indoor farming technology.
The collaborative agreement will include four initial facilities in the U.S. Northeast and Canada, with joint work in patenting the technology responsible for identifying the specific origin of plants required for intrastate commerce.
Each facility will range in size from 10,000-30,000 square feet, with yields that are expected to be 100 times greater than traditional methods.
The technology also involves incorporating environmentally friendly LED lighting for developing faster growing plants with additional yields of up to 20%.
IGC will own 51% of the venture once its operational, with a seven-year option to buy the venture for cash and shares in its common stock. The companies involved expected the venture could produce US$2-2.5 million in annual revenue with a projected net earnings return of 25%.
The total cost of each facility is expected to range between US$2.5-3 million.
"We are excited to partner with TerraSphere as we look to both develop proven pesticide-free organic growing intellectual property and secure a meaningful footprint of high tech facilities, in important states, for ultimately growing legal cannabis," IGC CEO Ram Mukunda said in a release.
"In the interim, we expect these facilities to generate accretive revenue from other plants as part of our strategic short-term goal of building profit, while simultaneously moving IGC closer towards meeting our long-term goal of becoming a dominant player in the emerging legal cannabis space."
Photo: www.shutterstock.com
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