13 July 2020
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In order to contribute to technological innovation in the agrifood sector, Maastricht University (UM) is establishing a new knowledge institute at Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo: the Brightlands Future Farming Institute. Within this new knowledge institute, the triple helix forces of Maastricht University (UM), the province of Limburg and the North Limburg region, BASF Vegetable Seeds as a potential private partner, and Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo will come together. The total investment over ten years is over 40 million euros.
Agrofood focused on sustainability
The agrofood sector is one of the strongest industries in the Netherlands. The importance of this sector for the economy and employment is very large: the agrifood sector represents about 10% of the Gross Domestic Product and also 10% of Dutch employment. It is also a sector that can make a major contribution to making the economy more sustainable: producing with less impact on nature and the environment. Agro-food can play a major role in the future in making our society and economy circular.
Plant breeding
The new institute will focus on breeding plants so that they are healthier for humans and the climate ("functional plant genomics") and are grown in a more environmentally friendly way in a highly innovative setting, the so-called greenhouse and indoor farming engineering. The institute makes the connection between the primary and breeding sector on the one hand and food and health expertise on the other. The institute is an indispensable link in the chain of high quality plant varieties via a balanced cultivation and nutrition concepts to promote the healthiest region of the Netherlands.
Entrepreneurship and knowledge development
The choice of Brightlands Venlo as the location for the institute guarantees a fertile ground for mutually reinforcing entrepreneurship and knowledge development, which will result in innovation with private parties, including regional SMEs. As a partner in Brightlands, BASF has expressed its intention to support this initiative for research into healthy vegetables and cultivation methods in relation to consumer properties.
Greenhouses for Research & Development
The institute will be housed at Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo, in Brighthouse, which will be completed by mid-2021. North Limburg, where the Venlo greenhouse was invented and where the entire chain, from seed to consumer, is strongly represented, is the ideal region to combine research and development. Moreover, new R&D greenhouses will be built here in 2021, some of which will also be available to the (SME) business community. Work will include modern breeding techniques, sensor technology, artificial intelligence, robotics and advanced systems analysis, with a focus on taste, convenience and sustainable circular food production.