Coventry-based hydroponics innovator, HydroGarden, is taking its vertical farming system VydroFarm to the international stage in 2016, exhibiting at two of the world’s leading horticultural trade fairs taking place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and The Netherlands.
As pressure on food supplies continues to increase in line with rapid population growth, the agriculture industry continues to investigate the potential of alternative methods which are sustainable and offer reliable crop growth, such as hydroponics. Since being launched 14 months ago at the University of Nottingham’s Vertical Farming and Urban Agriculture (VFUA) Conference, VydroFarm has attracted interest both in the UK and from other countries looking for solutions to ensure food production in areas where traditional farming is not a viable option.
Now HydroGarden hopes to find new distributors and contract opportunities by targeting overseas decision-makers and civic society leaders, starting in February at the The Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GIFA) 2016 in Abu Dhabi (UEA). HydroGarden will be co-exhibiting with Evolve Growing Solutions, an initiative led by Dr Philip Lee which aims to identify and develop new technologies which can help to create a food-secure future. Evolve is behind the Smart Farm developments for the UAE and Middle East and North Africa region, which it will be exhibiting alongside VydroFarm.
The second exhibition, where HydroGarden will be exhibiting in partnership with Valoya, creators of energy efficient LED lighting, is GreenTech which will take place in June in Amsterdam. Over 8,000 professionals involved in horticultural technology are expected to attend.
“Having had a very successful first year since we launched VydroFarm, we’re ready to take it to the next level and really test its export potential,” says commercial sales manager for HydroGarden, Stephen Fry. “As pressure on food supplies increases in line with population growth it will be necessary to look to other sustainable innovations such as hydroponics and VydroFarm to ensure that food production is sufficient for future generations. We are very excited about the new opportunities 2016 may bring.”
To find out more visit www.vydrofarm.co.uk.