GRODAN joins the Association for Vertical Farming

The horticulture sector is developing fast. Growers are facing new challenges and in the current growing climate there is a clear place for innovative solutions within the sector. As a part of the membership of the Association for Vertical Farming GRODAN will now play a part in safeguarding the strategic future of vertical farming and the development of this new high-tech horticultural sector.

"We should use the long established strengths of high-tech horticulture and apply them via customer driven innovation," says Stuart Lambie, Sustainability Manager at GRODAN. "As the world faces some major challenges in the upcoming decades, sustainable food production is becoming more and more important. GRODAN wants to help tackle Global Challenges by developing high-tech solutions based on the principle of doing more with less, while always taking care for the wellbeing of people and environment. We believe that GRODAN can become a great partner for the Association for Vertical Farming in this quest. We believe that GRODAN can make a difference and contribute to our joint Global Challenges, helping food producers to save water and other resources whilst supplying increasing quantities of healthy, fresh produce to an increasingly urbanised global population."

Stuart continues: "Our shared focus, with the Association for Vertical Farming, on the Global Challenges: water, resource scarcity and healthy food, offers us opportunities we can really capitalise on. GRODAN was behind the invention of crop production in stone wool, which helps growers all over the world to produce healthy, safe and tasty vegetables for consumers in a more sustainable way. The predicted growth in population means that in 2050, twice as much food will be required worldwide using half the resources such as water and nutrients, compared to what’s used today." The Association for Vertical Farming is an internationally active non-profit organization focusing on advancing Vertical Farming technologies, designs and businesses. They foster, just like GRODAN, the sustainable growth and development of technologies around the world through educating, connecting, sharing, partnering, and promoting. Becoming a member of the Association for Vertical Farming is a logical and important step in the right direction. It is a fast moving sector with high growth potential. As part of our strategy, we have implemented a sustainability programme that will guarantee continuous improvement in the field of sustainable development. Vertical Farming is one of them.

The still-nascent field of controlled environment agriculture is still developing; all members of the Association of Vertical Farming including GRODAN will work closely during the coming years to perfect the technology that will work in particular situations. “Working with the Association for Vertical Farming, and its partners, to optimize this ground-breaking technology is going to be an exciting textbook lesson in collaboration and productivity,” says Stuart Lambie, Sustainability Manager. "We see a role in bringing more than 45 years of knowledge and experience in soilless cultivation at GRODAN together with other forces in the field of vertical farming from research, business, and policy to create opportunities for the sustainable growth of this young industry around the globe. We look forward to deepening our partnership over years to come."

For more information

Stuart Lambie, Sustainability Manager