The perfect head lettuce, tomato, or cucumber: 'It is my mission to give vegetables optimum quality'
Jan van den Berg scouts the latest technology for the horticultural sector, is a professor at Maastricht University and keynote speaker at the Agrifood Innovation Event. IO interviewed him.
Published on October 23, 2024
As editor-in-chief, Aafke is ultimately responsible for the content of our platform, but she also likes to get into the pen herself. She is also responsible for the content of our events. She likes nothing better than explaining complicated things in an accessible way and is fond of telling the story of the people behind the technology.
Of many products in the supermarket, we can see exactly what nutritional values they have on the packaging. Except with fruits and vegetables. "I find it fascinating to see how we can give vegetables the best possible quality. Vertical farming can play a big role in this. Unlike outdoor farming, you can determine all the conditions in detail on a vertical farm."
Jan van den Berg is a professor of Plant Envirogenetics at Maastricht University. He does this in addition to his work as a technology scout at breeding company BASF|Nunhems. On Dec. 3, he will be one of the keynote speakers at the Agrifood Innovation Event. IO interviewed him.
AI will make horticulture more sustainable
Van den Berg flies worldwide to see the latest technologies with his own eyes. "I see if there is a match between what we need at BASF and what is possible - you can only make that assessment if you know the sector inside out." The most fun, but at the same time, the most challenging thing about his job? He gets excited by everything he encounters along the way. (Smiling): "I often quickly see it as reality. But that's not how it works; implementing new technologies takes time and patience. My colleagues at BASF|Nunhems make sure I keep both feet on the ground."
One technology the technology scout expects a lot from is AI. "It will increase the transparency of where our food comes from. Consumers will eventually be able to find out where and how their vegetables are grown. That creates opportunities for parties at the front of the supply chain to 'communicate' directly with consumers. Ultimately, questions from consumers about the CO₂ footprint and nutritional values, for example, will help make the horticultural sector more sustainable and of better quality."
The perfect tomato, cucumber, or head lettuce
When Van den Berg talks about "optimum quality," he refers to factors such as taste, freshness, and nutritional values. In traditional horticulture and arable farming, crops are highly subject to external conditions. The fact that growers in a vertical farm don't face surprises such as dry summers, heavy rainfall, fungi, and diseases provides a significant advantage. "You have all the conditions under control to guarantee a certain quality," he says.
Vertical farms can also have a significant advantage in terms of sustainability. Van den Berg said almost half are lost when vegetables are grown outside. "A lot remains in the ground when harvesting, and much product is lost during transport. With vertical farming, much less residual waste is involved."
The smallest part of the vertical farm
He specializes in the most minor but most crucial part of vertical farms: the seeds. He is a professor of Plant Envirogenetics at Maastricht University and a Technology Scout at BASF|Nunhems. With this expertise and experience, Van den Berg shared his perspective on vertical farming at the Agrifood Innovation Congress on Dec. 3. IO spoke to him about his passion for his work, the difference vertical farming can make, and his expectations for the future.
Four years ago, he was sworn in as an associate professor of Plant Envirogenetics at Maastricht University. In that capacity, he focuses on the relationship between vegetable genetics and environmental factors related to consumer attributes such as taste, convenience, and nutrients. These environmental factors include growing and post-harvest conditions such as storage, packaging, and processing.
Survival of the fittest
Technology has - quite obviously - minuses, too. “It requires a lot of energy. It's extremely expensive. That's one of the reasons the sector is in dire straits.” It makes sense, Van den Berg believes, that vertical farms start small and in a niche. That's how it is with every innovation: the promise and expectations are high. Then it fizzles out, then the companies that can manage it cost-effectively remain.
“Eventually, I expect that there will be a universal system that makes vertical farming scalable and adds profitable value. Look at greenhouses. Thirty years ago they all grew on a different substrate, now almost everyone uses rock wool. If the sector is united, it also becomes lucrative for seed companies to develop new varieties.” Because developing a new variety takes between 5 and 15 years, breeding companies need to know which way the growing system, and the sector as a whole, is heading.
A disease- and mold-free growing area
That brings the professor to another major advantage of vertical farming over traditional agriculture: diseases hardly play a role in a vertical farm. “The biggest problem of lettuce growing is fungal diseases such as mildew. Breeders spend half their time developing varieties resistant to mildew (a fungus, ed.). That's a rat race, so they don't get around to breeding other properties of the vegetables as much. A vertical farm has no mildew, so you can focus on very different things.”
Like making fruits and vegetables more attractive to customers. Another great passion of the scientist. “Many Dutch people do not adhere to the recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables; at the same time, we spend 10% of our GDP on direct healthcare costs and another 10% on indirect healthcare costs (lost labor productivity). If you can make vegetables more interesting, so that more people eat them - for example: a seedless watermelon or snack tomatoes - healthcare costs go down significantly.”
'The ride down is not over'
But, the sector is struggling. In the Netherlands, several companies - including the Dutch branch of Infarm, South Holland-based Future Crops, AeroFarms, and Crop One - went bankrupt recently. The business model has to make money at the bottom line, which is not always the case. Van den Berg believes that the bottom has not yet been reached. “We are close to it, but the ride down is not over.” Still, Van den Berg is sure that vertical farming will play a lasting role in growers' toolbox. Climate change is making more and more places on earth unsuitable for growing food.
How big that role becomes is a second thing. “The more money we pump in, the bigger the role. In 2019, I spoke at an Agri summit in New York. There were mostly bankers with venture capital in the room. At that time, there was about $1.5 billion in vertical farming, which wasn't profitable. I don't think anyone in that room was planning to pull out. The general trend there was: if it's not working yet, we need to put more money into it.”
Connecting food and wellness
And that brings him to another problem. Because no matter how innovative and intelligent we are in Europe, regulations - especially for the agricultural sector - are slowing down, and the innovation climate does not take enough risk. “If a startup raises funding here and fails, we pull the plug. In the U.S., they say, 'Fine! That person has experience, that's nice. We'll try again.'”
A feeling lurks in the background: Europe is missing the boat. “I'm very sorry about that anyway. But I'm an optimist. I feel a tremendous commitment to my profession. And I hope the developments in vertical farming can ensure we can produce high-quality, attractive vegetables with high nutritional values. So that we can make a connection between food production and human well-being.”