World Food Day, 16 October 2017
16/10/2017
We want to do our bit
If we are going to prevent famine from becoming an even bigger problem in the future than it already is today, we must take urgent action. This can be done by investing in intelligent solutions that help reduce food shortages.
World Food Day is an initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and has a single central message: we must ensure that famine does not take a greater hold on the world. We can best do this by developing smart initiatives that ensure that sufficient food is available for every human being on the planet.
BrightBox
One of the ways to achieve this is to develop the ideal growth process for plants.
And that is the exact objective of BrightBox, a centre of expertise for daylight-free multi-layer cultivation.
To save space, the crops are grown in several layers on top of each other. Given the constantly growing world population and the fact that 80% of the planet’s suitable surface area is already being used for agriculture, this is no superfluous luxury.
Harvest increases by 10%
BrightBox is also searching for the ideal growth recipe for plants, among other things by using the most efficient fertilisers – including CO2. "We are pleased that, thanks to our expertise in the field of gases, we can be part of this project,” explains Andy Augustus, Head of Marketing Food & Pharma at Air Liquide.
“During photosynthesis, plants absorb light, water and CO2 and convert these into oxygen. In nature, the proportion of CO2 is about 350 ppm, but in the BrightBox project, quantities of between 600 and 1,000 ppm are used. By adding this extra CO2, the yield of the harvest increases by around 10%. A clear win-win situation, both ecologically and economically.”
More local production
Today people are increasingly living in towns and cities. And they are eating more and differently.
It is hoped that in the near future initiatives like the BrightBox project will make it possible to produce sufficient quantities of tasty, fresh and healthy fruit and vegetables.
By producing more food locally, pollution and nuisance from transport are greatly reduced as well. Another important plus point is that the risk of crop failure – due to extreme weather conditions or other causes – is greatly reduced.