The Innoveins Cucumber cluster has officially started. The collaboration of innovative, progressive cucumber growers has been launched with celebration at the Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo. Of course innovation was the conversational topic of the day. New techniques, smart robotics, state-of-the-art sorting and packaging systems and various innovations in the area of sustainable and low energy greenhouses were presented to the growers.
Growers and market parties together at the start of the cucumber cluster
State of affairs Cucumber cluster
The collaboration of cucumber growers will work together from today to realise their market development programmes together with strong, progressive market parties. This is done in so-called user groups: compact project groups in which a small number of growers work together with researchers and developers from the market parties to realise their innovation plans. A user group is formed for each of the four innovation themes of the Cucumber cluster (robotics, light, cultivation systems and crop protection and water purification). At the time of writing eighteen growers, with over 135 hectares of greenhouse area of cucumbers in total, have signed a four year collaboration agreement with their Cucumber cluster.
Harvest robots, LED lighting, internal logistics, big data...
Gerard Koolen has been linked to the Cucumber cluster as a cluster manager since this summer: "I see an enthusiastic group of front runners within the cluster who really make work of innovation in the cucumber cultivation. Growers who realise that their cultivation will look completely different in a few years. Robots that harvest and pick leaves? A new generation of LED lighting? Fully automatic internal logistics with autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs)? Data collection by sensors in substrates? Everything can be done! Various conversations with strong, progressive market parties show that they respond positively to our ambitions, the participating growers and the chosen method of collaboration. In the end all growers in the cluster are their potential customers."
Innoveins links plant and technology
Innoveins encompasses an ecosystem that brings innovations out in agrofood, but making a connection with the high tech sector. Within Innoveins there is collaboration in innovation clusters; collaboration between multiple parties focused on co-creation and innovation. Progressive growers from both the horticulture and open ground cultivation play an important role in this. The intended location of Innoveins is a new innovation and R&D centre on the Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo.