AVF Summit 2015 Preview

Association for Vertical Farming ( AVF ) Summit 2015 Beijing Preview. Association for Vertical Farming Summit Beijing 帜·慧引领食品生产攀登新高 垂直农业协会（AVF）北京峰会暨中国现代农业系列高峰论坛 Taking food production to new heights 引领食品生产攀登新高 Beijing, China - May 9th & 10th 2015 Brought to you by AVF, Association for Vertical Farming e.V. AgriGarden, Beijing IEDA Protected Horticulture Co., LTD In collaboration with RUAF, Resource centres on urban agriculture & food security Sponsored by: agrilution www.agrilution.com Philips www.philips.com iF Juice www.ifjuice.com Hortimax www.hortimax.com RUAF www.ruaf.org Introduction How can we transfer knowledge in the emerging industry of urban and vertical farming? By bridging the gap between East and West we can encourage sustainable business models and research projects globally. This event will bring together international experts and local stakeholders in urban and vertical farming to present best practices and technological progress to each other with the goal of developing a roadmap for pilot projects around the world. Focus on China The AVF’s focus on China is driven by staggering facts that one-fifth of China’s arable land is contaminated and three-quarters of the surface water flowing through urban areas is unsuitable for drinking or fishing. It is estimated that 850 million people will live in urban areas by the year 2020 - they will need to be fed with safe and sustainable resource saving methods. The AVF sees China, with its technological expertise, urban expansion, and existing indoor farming knowledge as a critical player in the global development of sustainable vertical farming. The Event in Beijing Within vertical farming, there are a number of challenges on the technical side including the development of sustainable business models, marketing strategies, and robust technology performance data. More needs to be done to collaborate on a roadmap to global implementation as well as analyzing the impact on society and the existing food system infrastructure. Companies, city planners, research institutions and governmental institutions need to exchange their ideas and visions, developing clear best practices based upon their challenges and experiences. The Beijing event will be a unique opportunity to collaborate on these challenges and leapfrog the solutions needed to solve them. The event intends to bring together multiple stakeholders in order to: Present the state of technical developments within VF and UA such as aquaponics, hydroponics, artificial lighting and high-tech vertical farming. Educate and inform on possibilities of integrating VF and UA into urban planning (with a focus on Beijing, Shanghai and other Asian megacities). Introduce a platform for a variety of VF and UA stakeholders to engage. Develop a roadmap for three sustainable pilot vertical farm business models for China, Europe, and North America. Introduction to the Association for Vertical Farming The Association for Vertical Farming (AVF) is the first and largest international nonprofit organization aimed at driving the Vertical Farming (VF) industry forward. The AVF’s mission is the rapid and sustainable development of VF around the world. The AVF does this by supporting research, projects, and building a trusted network of all actively involved individuals, businesses, and institutions of the VF industry. The board members of the AVF are committed to sustainability and believe that the broad implementation of VF will lead to more resilient cities in the face of climate change. Speakers included: Dr. Wei Lingling (Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, IEDA) Prof. Yang Qichang (Chinese Academy for Agricultural Sciences, CAAS) Dr. Wen Tao (Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, IEDA) Dr. Zhenshan Yang (IGSNRR-CAS and RUAF China) Dr. Toyoki Kozai (Japan Plant Factory Association) Dr. Nate Storey (Bright Agrotech) Dr. Joel Cuello (University of Arizona) Dr. Dai Jianfeng (Philips City Farming) Dr. Li Bojun Dr. Hans Au (iF Foods) Dr. Dickson Despommier (Columbia University/The Vertical Farm) Henry Gordon-Smith (Agritecture) Maximilian Loessl (agrilution) Jack Ng (Sky Greens) Henk de Zeeuw (RUAF) Yuval Zohar (JDS Architects) Mohan Bajikar (AVF India) Sean Quinn (10 Design) Martin Veenstra (Certhon) Newsletter Writeup of the event: http://eepurl.com/bmDFkP www.vertical-farming.net