VertiFarm 2019: International workshop on vertical farming
13-15 October 2019
Wageningen, The Netherlands
A new vision on plant production
The world population is rapidly growing from about 7 today to 9.5 billion people in 2050 and eating habits are changing. The demand for high quality fresh vegetables that are safe, healthy, tasty, and sustainably produced within or near urban areas is strongly increasing. This requires a new vision on food production and distribution. Vertical farming offers a new route that could fit future urban food systems.
Vertical farming is a rapidly developing technology where plants are grown under fully controlled conditions in buildings in many stacked layers without solar light. Other terms used for this type of vertical farms are city farms, indoor farms, or plant factory with artificial light (PFAL). Vertical farming is a next level production system, which allows production of plants at any place including the most urbanized regions of the world. The use of LED light and the full control of both the aboveground and below ground conditions in combination with the right cultivar, enables growers to produce products with extra added value, which appeal to the demand of consumers for safe, reliable, and tasty, nutritious food.
The Workshop
It is now time for the first international workshop on Vertical Farming, organised under the auspices of the International Society for Horticultural Science. The workshop combines a number of oral presentations of world leading horticultural researchers, panel discussions with renowned companies, short oral and poster presentations on the latest research results on vertical farming.
The workshop welcomes scientific presentations on all aspects of vertical farming, ranging from plant physiology, breeding, climate control, engineering, systems design, urban planning, economics, consumer demands and business development. Although at this moment vertical farming largely deals with vegetables, there are also opportunities for production of ornamental (young) plants. Therefore, the workshop also welcomes presentations on ornamentals in vertical farms.
You are most welcome to attend the workshop from 13 to 15 October on the Campus of Wageningen University the Netherlands. If you want to be sure to have a place at the workshop, register now!
Keynote speakers
Eri Hayashi, Japan Plant Factory Association (Japan), Global R&D and business trends of plant factories toward inclusive and sustainable societies
Murat Kacira, University of Arizona (USA): Climate control
Luuk Graamans, Wageningen UR & TU Delft (the Netherlands) Greenhouses or vertical farms? Future perspectives for cities in the light of resource use efficiency
Erik Runkle, Michigan State University (USA) Spectral manipulations to elicit desired plant quality attributes
Qichang Yang, CAAS, Institute for urban agriculture (China) Current status of vertical farming and its development of energy saving technologies in China
Bruce Bugbee, Utah State University (USA) Turning photons into food: Modelling the potential of indoor agriculture
Marie-Christine Van Labeke, Ghent University (Belgium) Multilayer production of ornamentals: light on young plants
Danny Geelen, Ghent University (Belgium) Plant health in a controlled environment and the impact of organic nutrition
Emiel Wubben, Wageningen UR (the Netherlands) Vertical Farming: Where is the business? A study into its business types and business models
Francesco Orsini, Bologna University (Italy) Sustainable use of resources in indoor farms with artificial lighting
Invited speakers
Dorthe Larsen, Wageningen UR (the Netherlands) Improving quality and secondary metabolite content in basil with LED light
Qianxixi Min, Wageningen UR (the Netherlands) Producing lettuce with longer shelf life by short-term pre-harvest lighting
Sharath Kumar Malleshaiah, Wageningen UR (the Netherlands): Control of flowering in vertical farms: case study on Chrysanthemum
Wenqing Jin, Wageningen UR (the Netherlands) Effects of farred light on growth and development of lettuce
Speakers from companies during panel discussions
- Ed Harwood, Aerofarms, USA
- Katashi Kai, 808Factory, Japan
- David Proenza, Urban Farms Global, Panama
- Pavlos Kalaitzoglou, Infarm, Germany
- John Bijl, OwnGreens & VitroPlus, The Netherlands
- Celine Nicole, Philips lighting (Signify), The Netherlands
- Ali Ahmadian, Heliospectra, Sweden
- Timo Bongartz, Fluence Bioengineering/Osram, Germany
- Jan Westra, Priva, The Netherlands
- Pim Molenaars, Rockwool Grodan, The Netherlands
- Breeder (to be announced soon)
- More to be announced soon
1 Comment
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