What are we eating now? And what will we be eating in 2050? Who will produce that? And how? These questions are the main focus of the Dutch Agri Food Week 2018 from the 5th to the 16th of October 2018. Deputy of the Provincial Executive of Limburg Hubert Mackus has already cleared his schedule to attend a number of events, because the national opening is on Friday October 5 at Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo.
During the Dutch Agri Food Week (DAFW), food, food innovation and food production are in the spotlight. Growers, farmers, researchers, startups, entrepreneurs from the supply and processing industry, retail and government will show how they work on safe and healthy food for the present and future. The official opening of DAFW this year is at the campus in Venlo, on October 5.
Deputy Hubert Mackus is pleased with this choice: "If there is one place where knowledge is developed and shared in the field of healthy nutrition, then it is here on the campus in Venlo. We are the leader in fresh: a quarter of all open field vegetables are grown in North Limburg. Everything is about healthy nutrition, marketing the product, research and innovation. These are all ingredients of DAFW too."
Tomorrow’s Food
During the opening, Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo will focus on Tomorrow's Food: how do we together ensure that in the future there is sufficient safe and healthy food for everyone? There will be pitches from innovative startups in the Tomorrow's Challenge, presentations on the concrete application of science at From Science to Business and an innovation square with campus residents and startups.
"When you visit the opening in Venlo and DAFW, you will learn about how we will produce and consume our food in the future. You will be introduced to the latest technologies and developments that we will need to provide ourselves and later on 9 billion people worldwide with safe and healthy food. Which products will be on our supermarket shelves at that time and how we as consumers can make healthy choices, that you can see, taste and hear during DAFW", according to Mackus.
According to the deputy, it is also important to raise the production of food to a higher, value-added plan. The campus in Venlo plays an important role in this. "SMEs can visit the campus with all their questions in the field of bio based, future farming and healthy food. By forming clusters, entrepreneurs can jointly gather and start working together to accelerate innovations in the area of sustainable crop protection, new cultivation methods, digitization, etc."
Knowledge turntable
Mackus sees the campus as a knowledge turntable: "The research in Venlo is SME-driven and therefore also practically applicable. If it is not marketable, it is not interesting. By sharing the knowledge with each other, you can progress as an entrepreneur. This you will also see when you attend the opening on October 5th. The developments on the campus are going super fast."
In addition to the opening of DAFW, from 5 to 16 October the campus will organize numerous activities for business, education, knowledge institutions, public, politics, etc. Check the program at www.brightlands.com/dutchagrifoodweek.
Source: Brightlands