Chinese in need of greenhouses to feed mega cities

The Chinese region of Dezhou is to get dozens of hectares of greenhouse in the coming years. Dutch knowledge, support and cooperation is desired in that process.

A modern 2 ha greenhouse is opened in Sanhe (near Beijing). The greenhouse was built with Dutch knowledge from companies like Delphy, Priva, Rijk Zwaan, Royal Brinkman, Koppert Biological Systems and Ludvig Svensson

Last week, 50 Dutch companies and research institutions traveled through China. Led by Adri Bom-Lenstra, provincial representative and chairman of Greenport Westland-Oostland, the participating horticultural suppliers explored the opportunities in the region.

Chinese horticultural R&D Center AgriGarden has offices in Beijing, Silicon Valley and Westland

Packed house at the 2nd Chinese-Dutch Horticulture Forum in Beijing

In China, it's largely about feeding the mega cities: conglomerates with millions of inhabitants, who increasingly value safely grown food. In order to realize this, the Chinese want to realize several dozens of hectares of greenhouse projects, using Dutch knowledge.

A new, modern horticulture project in Dezhou. The first phase comprises 7 hectares, more will follow.

During the trade mission, Adri Bom-Lenstra opened one of the already realized projects near Beijing. This is a project from investment company Laudriz. This Chinese organization used to mainly focus on wall greenhouses, but together with Dutch suppliers they developed a 2 hectare high-tech greenhouse. Companies involved in this project include Royal Brinkman, Delphy, Svensson, Koppert, Priva and Rijk Zwaan. Another one of the program's projects is the AgriGarden, a research center where sustainability takes center stage and where things like substrate cultivation and water use are researched.

The municipality of Westland signed an agreement with Dezhou. The Chinese city wants to realize 30 projects in the coming years, with greenhouses on dozens of hectares.

The Haofeng Food project which is still under construction, was also visited. This company was founded in 2006 and focuses on the higher Chinese segment. The company is now working on a 7-hectare greenhouse for the production of tomatoes and the development of another 60 hectares of open field cultivation. But it doesn't end there: the company has the ambition to take up another 9 projects like this in the next 3 to 5 years. It's typical for Dezhou. The city and region are close to Beijing, but other metropolises, including Shanghai, are nearby as well. Arne Weverling of the Dutch municipality of Westland signed an agreement with his colleague from Dezhou. It states that both regions will do everything possible to get further ahead and to promote and support cooperation, particularly in horticulture.

Photos: Twitter Arne Weverling

Publication date: Fri 7 Oct 2016