Jan 15, 2019
Liberty Produce, a UK-based farming and technology company with expertise in horticultural lighting and fertigation systems will lead a consortium of eleven partners in a £1.3m project to accelerate the development of the UK vertical farming sector.
The grant, awarded by Innovate UK, will support the creation of an integrated technology system focussed on reducing operational costs by 25%, improving crop yield by 30% and reducing necessary grower intervention through improved decision support and automation in lighting, nutrient and environmental control technologies.
New technologies will be evaluated within the Future Farming Hub, a vertical farming commercial demonstrator established by Liberty Produce in partnership with Crop Health and Protection (CHAP), and Iceni Labs and located at the James Hutton Institute, in Dundee, Scotland.
Zeina Chapman, Director of Liberty Produce commented, “This project will provide step-change advances towards enabling vertical farming technologies. These systems could reduce water usage, eliminate the use of agrochemicals and provide year-round local production. For many crops, vertical farming is currently on the cusp of commercial viability.
Improved technology in this sector will increase the adoption of these sustainable food growing systems, reduce the environmental impact of crop production, improve food security and create opportunities for the growth and export of UK agricultural technologies.”
About Liberty Produce:
Liberty Produce is a farming and technology company, growing British produce year-round, using a fully-controlled indoor vertical farming system.
The Future Farming Hub develops new and next-generation technologies that will provide commercial value and benefits to growers. Their vision is to drive innovations that will enable the UK to meet our food requirements over the next century, without harming the planet.
For further information contact:
Alexander Giles
alexander.giles@icenilabs.com
+44(0)7919 337723