Welcome to the December 2023 edition of The Spark, SEFARI Gateway’s (Centre of Expertise for Knowledge Exchange & Innovation) newsletter, a monthly update on the latest research developments from the Scottish Government’s Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) strategic research programme. The ENRA Research Portfolio provides evidence for policy and practice across environment, climate change, biodiversity, land use, agriculture, food, and rural community agendas.
Scottish innovation in Vertical Farming lands major deal at COP28
Picture: IGS Ltd Chief Executive David Farquhar and COO Andrew Llyod signing a major new deal in UAE at COP28 to supply Scottish designed and built vertical farming technology.
Climate change is already adding costs to price of food and we have an urgent need to find new ways of growing food that is resilient to climate extremes and reduces the impact on the environment.
Research in the Strategic Research Programme and Underpinning National Capacity support makes a major contribution to the Advanced Plant Growth Centre at Invergowrie at the James Hutton Institute who research ways to use protected and indoor farming to grow food more sustainably. The critical mass of research capability, skills and knowledge supported by the programme was a major reason Intelligent Growth solutions Ltd. co-located with the James Hutton Institute in Invergowrie to develop their novel vertical farming technology. Seven years later they have grown from 5 to 250 people and this week signed a deal to supply 200 IGS Growth Towers to the UAE as part of Giga Farm. The announcement was made at COP28.
This is a big success story for Scottish based innovation and an exemplar of the economic impact and stimulus a publicly funded programme provides.