On October 14, the Fruit Tech Campus will present the Fruit & Tech Innovation Award. Companies can register to have their technological innovation assessed and win a cash prize of €2,500. As the theme of this first Fruit & Tech Innovation Award is Technovation for Next Level Fruit, the Fruit Tech Campus deploys a jury to assess the applications.
"Sustainability, health, circularity, biodiversity, energy, water, labour, the food crisis and a lack of appreciation are all challenges in the fruit sector that require a new way of working," the initiators explain. "Companies are growing which means they need more technical support and management automation. Moreover, a combination of low economic results and high labour costs creates a demand for affordable technological solutions and there is a greater need for technological resources for those temporary workers."
"Companies in the fruit sector also have to deal with extensive environmental requirements regarding resources, energy and water consumption. Technological innovation is therefore essential for the future of fruit. Technovation for next level fruit is therefore the central theme of the submissions for the Fruit & Tech innovation award."
The jury members of the Fruit & Tech Innovation Award 2021 are Hendrik Satter, (soft fruit grower Bommelerwaard), Koen van den Berg (soft fruit grower Noord-Brabant), Niels van Arkel (top fruit grower de Betuwe), Richelle Huids (top fruit grower Zuid-Limburg), Gijsbert Hakkert (Precision Farming specialist), Jan Loeffen (Smart Farming specialist), Mit Koevoets (Software Engineer)
Would you also like to have your technological innovation assessed by young professionals from the sector? You can register for the award until September 1 via this link.