Ever wonder what will happen when the ever increasing population of the world will eat up all the land that is used for agriculture? And when there is no land to grow food on, what will happen to those ever growling hungry bellies? Addressing this same societal concern of world hunger and aiming to provide healthier and better tasting food to all, Philips has recently opened an LED-powered farm called GrowWise City, in the Netherlands which is now home to 10,000 researchers.

GrowWise City is a clean environment that allows for absolutely no air or natural light. At this 2500 square foot facility, scientists are working day and night in a bid to provide farmers with “LED light growth recipes” that will help them to grow healthy and fresh crops throughout the year without any need of soil and sunlight. The research centre comprises of eight climate rooms that have four-layered mechanized planting racks. Each layer of the planting rack uses Philips GreenPower LEDs that specifically specialize in crop-growth and can be adjusted to suit individual plants. Presently, the researchers are working on light recipes for herbs, strawberries and upgraded leafy vegetables and aim to move on to developing recipes for carbohydrate crops like wheat and potatoes.

Gus van der Feltz, Philips Global Director of City Farming, expressed, “Our aim is to develop the technology that makes it possible to grow tasty, healthy and sustainable food virtually anywhere. The research we are undertaking will enable local food production on a global scale, reducing waste, limiting food miles and using practically no land or water.”

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Author:Technology Blog