Innovative Solutions from the US and EU Global Agriculture Challenges

Farmtours, Keynotes & Round Table Discussion Panel & Vertical Farming World Congress by FarmTech Society and Zenith Global

September 19 - 20 - 21  2022

FarmTech Society and Zenith Global open the Vertical Farming World Congress with a unique farm tour convening high-profile industry stakeholders, researchers, architects & planners, investors, and—for the first time—international, national US & EU-level policy-makers.

The farm tours will be followed by tastings of the products and an FarmTech Society Panel Discussion on

The cluster of the innovative Urban Agriculture operations at the Abattoir in Brussels are unique as there are multiple operators engaged in commercial growing in the context of decarbonized food production, utilizing commercial zones with a new CIRCULAR use case that is important to understand from an integrated approach for green infrastructure, tours will provide first hand experience and exchange with all the stakeholder to discuss recognition of the solutions with the

1. Urban Harvest, A vertical farming technology provider (focus on strawberries) 

2. BIGH An aquaponic farming operator and system provider (vegetables, herbs and fish)

3. ECLO An vertical farming operator and system provider (mushrooms and microgreens)

These Urban Agriculture operations are an excellent example of intensive agro-ecological practices that are following the principle of circular economy by utilizing renewable energy and other waste streams from the site, achieving carbon neutrality in food production and beyond.

They also provide a set of STEM based career options and allow the employment of people with disability, there is also a great example for automation to eliminate hazardous and physically challenging jobs.

They are also improving the supply chain by growing predictably, reducing waste and supplying local markets.

This cluster provides evidence for the scalability and the transformative potential to decarbonize and make food production future proof!

Opening Day Monday 19 September

12:00 - 16:00 Farmtours with the enterpreneurs

14:30 FTS CAFE Talks Round Table Panel Discussion:

Green Infrastructure Integration with Controlled Environment Agriculture

Agriculture at large needs to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels and adopt renewables, as the energy prices have reached levels that breach economic viability on farms small and large, also, agriculture is still a large emitter of greenhouse gasses and is being pressured by regulators to clean up.

Few options are potentially helping with this transition, one of which is Controlled Environment Agriculture or CEA, a dynamic highly digital and resource efficient practice growing food and ornamentals with less land, less input,  but quite high energy requirements.

By combining synergetic nutrients and energy streams (animal waste to fertilizers, waste heat from VF to heating greenhouses) a CEA cluster would balance the input and energy needs of the operators with that of a microgrid within a region with renewable energy parks “green infrastructure”.

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Clustering operators as a novel proposition arises and can then also integrate most stakeholders in the supply chain, such as logistics, processing, research and development, breeding and also training, all integrated into renewable energy parks on possible former brownfields and or manufacturing land closer to population ;

FTS proposes as part of the energy transition and the upgrading of infrastructure poor regions in the EU, CEA cluster development into green infrastructure  projects based on renewable energy generation (led by FTS): The Lausitz cluster for  a CO2- Neutral Economy and for Sustainable Growth in the former Browncoal Regions

Keynote Introduction Alfons Riek, VP Technology and Innovation Group Holding FESTO (confirmed)

Moderation by Derek Smith, CEO RRI and Tom Zoellner, Co-founder and Secretary-General FTS (confirmed)

1. Panelist Colin Logan,  Head of EU Sales, Intelligent Growth Solutions) (confirmed)

2. Panelist Tisha Livingston President 80 Acres (confirmed)

3. Panelist Wim Grootscholten, Rijk Zwaan (confirmed)

16:00  Announcement Partnership RRI & FTS and  Delegates Networking 

16:30 Zenith Global VERTICAL FARMING WORLD CONGRESS KEYNOTE ADDRESS: 

Innovative Solutions from the US and EU, Global Agriculture Challenges (working title)

Keynote Introduction: Barbara Trachte, Secretary of State of the Brussels Capital Region (confirmed)

CONGRESS ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION

• Robert Bonnie USDA Under Secretary of Agriculture, US  (confirmed)

• Gijs Schuiltehuis, EC DG Agri Head of Policy Department Belgium (confirmed)

• Sonny Ramaswamy, President of NWCommission of Colleges and Universities and former Director of NIFA (confirmed)

• Richard Hall, CEO Zenith Global, UK (confirmed)

18:00 Relocation to the Steigenberger Wiltcher's Hotel for the Congress Welcome Reception