Open Innovations Theatre at GFIA highlight best ideas and products
A host of innovative ideas and products for sustainable agriculture, which have the potential to act as game-changing catalysts in the plight to feed 9.7 billion people forecasted by 2050, will be presented in Abu Dhabi next week.
The free to attend Open Innovations Theatre, a popular feature on the show floor of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA), will highlight products such as Integrate from Engage Agro Europe, a new water management system which saves up to 50% of water usage without any loss of production or quality of crops, and will see state of the art technology such as drones and cloud-based platforms which can elevate the efficiency of farms explained to the audience.
Taking place from 20-21 March 2017 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the GFIA is held in strategic partnership with Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority and with support of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.
Light4Food will present the cultivation of leaf vegetables on a ‘net’, without any additives such as potting soil or rock wool mats, which makes the system revolutionary and unique. Seeds are sown onto the net and a water supply ensures nutrients are offered to the leafy vegetables. The perfect growing conditions are set by climate control and LED lights, and the net cultivates leafy vegetables such as lettuce, baby leaf, lolo rosso, arugula and spinach.
As the population continues to grow, new arable land becomes more and more finite, and inefficient conventional methods of farming can waste more water than the plants can retain. Evergreen Farm Oy is a technology company focusing on providing clean sustainable food through agricultural innovation and has upgraded existing systems of hydroponics by replacing major flaws with more efficient and scalable systems.
Open Innovations Theatre Highlights
1. City Farming: growing on a net – Light4Food
2. 365 PlantyFood – Certhon
3. How to take advantage of a fully sustainable indoor growing system – Evergreen Farm Oy
4. Integrate, a new era in water management – Engage Agro Europe
5. The real use behind the drone-to-tractor workflow – Pix4D
6. AgFiniti: your personal ag cloud – Ag Leader
7. Ynsect: feeding animals naturally and efficiently – IPIFF
8. Ocean Harvest – Ocean Harvest Technology Ltd
9. DateGIS: integrated geo-information system for date palm precision agriculture – TecIB
10. How to plant the best for the next generation – Date Palm Development Ltd
11. The internet for farmers with no internet – WeFarm
12. Stopping the killing of 3.2billion male chicks per year – In Ovo
The GFIA conference will feature speakers from around the world tackling five key challenges: climate-resilient crops; growing the aquaculture industry; future-proofing animal health; smallholder farmer development; and sustainable animal production. On the opening day, His Excellency Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment in the UAE, will deliver the welcome address.
Among the panel of speakers will be H.E. Khadim Al Darei, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Al Dahra Agriculture Company; H.E. Memli Krasniqi, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development in the Government of the Republic of Kosovo; André Laperrière, Executive Director, Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN); Dawood Al Yahyai, Director of Aquaculture Development, Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries in Oman; Eng. Ahmed R. Al Ballaa, CEO, National Aquaculture Group; and Alya Al Mazroui, Programe Manager at the National Centre of Meteorology & Seismology, who will be giving an update on the progress to date of the UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science.
GFIA, now in its 4th edition, will also feature an exhibition hosting some 300 companies, and an Innovations Programme, showcasing a series of 15-minute talks from start-up companies who think they have a next-generation solution that could shape the future of farming around the world. Further information can be found at www.InnovationsInAgriculture.com.