A consortium of leading Dutch horticultural companies and knowledge institutes will open a Chinese-style solar greenhouse in Bleiswijk in September. The aim is to experiment and gain more insight and knowledge about cultivating in Chinese greenhouses.
The benefits are twofold: customized Dutch technology allows Chinese growers to increase crop quality and yields. Additionally, it provides new market opportunities for Dutch suppliers.
The Chinese horticultural industry is growing significantly. The industry is facing challenges to meet the growing demand for high-value and safe food.
Factors such as population growth, decreasing water resources and higher costs make it harder for Chinese growers to meet these demands. Moreover, cultivation in soil decreases the soil quality due to the residues.
To help Chinese growers find solutions for these challenges, a consortium of several leading Dutch companies in horticulture technology and knowledge (PIB Horticulture: Hoogendoorn, Ludvig Svensson, Ridder Hortimax, Delphy, BOAL Group, Lentiz and Wageningen UR; coordinated by Dutch-Sino Business Promotions) joined forces.
This consortium assists Chinese growers to improve their production, quality and climate in their solar greenhouse, while making use of solar energy and soilless cultivation. This allows these local growers to use water, nutrients and energy in a more sustainable way.
Chinese solar greenhouse
The gap between local production in solar greenhouses and the latest Dutch horticulture technology is often too big for Chinese growers. In order for the consortium to experiment and gain more knowledge and insight about growing crops in a Chinese local environment, consortium members Hoogendoorn, Ludvig Svensson, Ridder Hortimax, Delphy, and Wageningen UR decided to set up a Chinese-style solar greenhouse in Bleiswijk. This solar greenhouse, equipped with high standard Dutch technology, mimics the (climate) conditions of a solar greenhouse in China. By practical research Dutch suppliers are better capable to align their solutions with Chinese cultivation methods and circumstances.
Dutch Sino Business Promotions plays a part in the realization of this project. SVG Group from China is involved in the construction of the Solar Greenhouse in Bleiswijk. SVG Group owns many solar greenhouses in Shandong Province, the greenhouse production centre of China. This project is supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO.nl) and the Metropolitan region Rotterdam – The Hague (MRDH.nl). The solar greenhouse will be ready in September 2016, when the first crops will be planted.
Source: www.dutchsino.com
