Mulling Controlled Environment Agriculture: Here Are Some Points To Grow On
The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) hosted a networking and engagement session with produce retailers and controlled environmental agriculture (CEA) producers at this year’s Retail Conference held in Oak Brook, IL.
The meeting featured a guest speaker, Investor and Chairman of Equilibrium Dave Chen, who spoke about the opportunities ahead for CEA and retailers and provided attendees with time for roundtable discussions to learn more about challenges and possibilities at both ends of the supply chain.
“This was a unique opportunity to bring together CEA and retailers at the Retail Conference this year,” says Vonnie Estes, IFPA Vice President of Ag Innovation. “It’s easy to talk about the potential for CEA or rely only on the headlines around CEA startups, but bringing these two groups together allowed us to discuss the scalability of indoor grown products that meet consumers and retailers’ needs for locally grown, fresh produce with fewer inputs.”
Takeaways from the discussion included:
False “Competition”: There is a tendency, as new technologies emerge, to set them against each other in a race towards the best solution. Chen stressed the importance of thinking about CEA as a set of application tools that includes everything from hoop houses to glasshouses and vertical farms. They are all tools to be used to solve a problem.
The CFO role is hugely important for the success of CEA. Chen noted that as an asset intensive industry, the traditional startup philosophy of “failing fast” is not financially feasible for many growers. Approaching the implementation of new growing solutions with the CFO mindset of balancing risk and profitability will be key to innovations that stick. Balance sheet structure is a competitive advantage.
Breeding takes time. Those in the CEA space should take advantage of the incredible depth of knowledge and research by current seed breeders. If CEA innovators are looking for certain varieties or traits, starting from scratch will take a decade at least. Find your seed-breeding partners to accelerate the work.
“This meeting between CEA producers and suppliers and grocery retailers is a first for the industry,” said Abby Prior, Chief Commercial Officer at BrightFarms. “The group represents the full supply chain, collaborating to meet the growing demand for locally sourced, fresh, and environmentally conscious produce. The CEA segment is in a crucial growth stage and the discussions aligning needs and expectations of the group is an important step forward.”
For more, continue reading at GreenhouseGrower.com.
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