BVB Substrates anticipates rise of city farming

Five years ago, Peter Sonneveld, product manager at BVB Substrates, did not expect a large rise of city farming. Now he knows better. "That it is (or will be) booming. That much is certain."

For the substrate supplier this has significant consequences. The requirements for substrates for multi-layer cultivation are different than for greenhouse cultivation. Just the plant health protection requires the necessary adaptation.

Especially in the area around Fukushima in Japan, that was hit by a nuclear disaster, already a lot multilayer cultivation systems have been established. Before people are allowed inside, strict hygienic measures are enforced. Every influence from outside is undesired. And that also applies for the products that are needed to grow. Peter: "Everything must be cleaner than clean So this goes for the substrates as well. Of course Fukushima is an extreme example. "But this aspect is more important for city farming cultivation than in greenhouse cultivation."

A factor is that substrates are used elevated in the multilayer cultivation. "This requires a substrate with a lower weight than usual. It must be suitable to work with," Peter says. And there are still many issues that are different.

BVB invests to specialize further in this field. Presently a lot of construction activities are going on. One of the new buildings contains an extensive R & D department. Peter: "The new research location is designed to meet current requirements. Of course quality checks will continue to take place there. The tables with LED also come back again. These are used for weed tests and growth tests. That constitutes an indispensable part of our organization."

What is new and high tech is the construction of two Phytotrons, being climate chambers with a multilayer system. Here everything is adjustable to be able to test properly. The Phytotrons at BVB Substrates are used for:

- the development of substrates for multi-layer cultivation

- simulation of practical problems. Based on these results a well-founded cultivation advice can be given.

There are plenty of ideas and plans for the sector. Peter: "City cultivation certainly is a market for us as substrates supplier, so we will take this into account. It looks a far-fetched idea but it certainly is not. Worldwide several projects are already in operation. Of course in America, but also in the Netherlands, multilayer units are already in production: in Poeldijk and in Dronten."