What Does the Future Hold For GreenTech?

Mariska Dreschler of GreenTech RAI

Mariska Dreschler, Director of Horticulture, RAI, says: “More sustainable food production is an important task, and it’s one of the things that makes my job as an event organizer better and more interesting and inspiring.”

GreenTech, the international all-things-horticulture-technology blowout that’s held annually in June in Amsterdam, is uniquely positioned to address the various tech needs of growers across the full spectrum of greenhouse growing, whether it’s fully controlled environment, ornamentals, leafy greens, or legal cannabis produced under glass.

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The face behind the curtain at GreenTech, who along with her team are pulling all the various levers that make the show an international can’t-miss, is Mariska Dreschler, Director of Horticulture for show organizer RAI.

We touched base with Dreschler recently to see and hear what she’s been up to since hosting a record-setting GreenTech back in June, and unveiling the show’s new theme going forward, “Circular Horticulture.”

Greenhouse Grower (GG): Explain for our audience the new Circular Horticulture theme that GreenTech is embracing for the 2019 show, and how that translates to attendees’ individual operations?

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Mariska Dreshler (MD): Circular Horticulture has to do with the similar focus of the Dutch government, and it also goes hand in hand with the innovation skills we see throughout the horticulture sector, in my perspective. On one hand, it is the government saying you have to produce in a more circular manner, which means being more future proof for the planet, and using less raw materials. Lowering the CO2 emissions and energy costs for indoor growing is another piece of that, as well.

GG: What about on the grower side? Are the growers that come to GreenTech also focused on producing crops in a more sustainable fashion, as well?

MD: Yes, that’s just on one hand. On the other hand, of course the grower wants to grow with less inputs wherever possible, and to maximize the yield of the crop. But they also want to produce it in a way that is good for the planet. So, not only for profit but also for planet. So I think what the government says, that we have to be more circular as an economy of horticulture in Holland, and the fact that all the Dutch companies that are worldwide active on technology on greenhouse crop producing, it goes hand in hand (with the focus at GreenTech).

GG: But is it really that easy to be green, or sustainable? Are there challenges to this that growers need help or guidance with?

MD: Yes, we would agree that now there are some big challenges (with this). It’s not that easy to be just circular, because part of that is having to put something back in. You’re not always taking but you have to put something back in for it to be truly circular. But this horizon point, as I like to envision it in my mind, this is something that we all understand is necessary for the industry. It’s a good step toward that point on the horizon we’re all striving to reach. More sustainable food production is an important task, and it’s one of the things that makes my job as an event organizer better and more interesting and inspiring.

GG: So, GreenTech is primarily a technology exposition. Where does technology, specifically automation and artificial intelligence (AI), fit into the equation?

MD: I think with automation you can make it lighter to produce, so you in turn need less people. You can also make the lower-level jobs more interesting and give those employees new, more exciting responsibilities by putting more automation in your system or greenhouse. So, it’s not just being one small link in the chain, but now they have an entire automation package under their watch, and those employees tend to like that and respond to it.

GG: Like most agriculture sectors, horticulture is seeing an aging knowledge base largely nearing retirement age and is struggling to attract young talent to the industry. How does this emphasis on the technology help alleviate that and get more young people into the greenhouse?

MD: The combination of fresh food production, and people being more aware of how we want to contribute to the sustainability of the planet, and AI, can make the jobs more interesting for the younger generations. It’s important to also innovate on how we address the nice element of this horticulture industry. Even in the Netherlands, we need to highlight more what a great industry this is, and not only empower but also educate the younger people on all the great career opportunities we have in horticulture.

GG: The fact that the Netherlands and, more specifically, Amsterdam, are viewed worldwide as the kind of holy land of legal cannabis and yet, recreational cannabis is still quite illegal and the industry is forced to kind of operate in the shadows there, is quite the juxtaposition. What’s the latest with legalization efforts in Holland?

MD: There’s 10 municipalities that have been appointed to produce cannabis, and that is a kind of pilot program. They will be growing for several of the coffee shops, so that’s an experiment on the recreational side. And, of course, there is the medical side of the industry. I’d say we have an interesting way of how cannabis is approached in Holland. It is not regulated yet, it’s tolerated. Especially the recreational cannabis growers.

If you look at the medical side of it in Holland, it is regulated, and it must be prescribed by a doctor. There is one grower who is certified to grow for the medical market, and you get it legally from your doctor, he or she prescribes it.

Now I come to the point of why do we choose to support this type of cultivation at GreenTech? And I say it is that we focus on the legal and medicinal cannabis part. If you look at that, you want to have the best product possible and have the best cannabis and all the ingredients of that. You also want to have the best measures (in place).

And we see that the more the market develops and becomes more mature, the technologies that are used in other types of cultivation are getting more interesting for cannabis growers. Because it is more measurable, and you can really add value to your crop with the right lighting and the kind of substrate you use. Also, how you propagate your specific varieties and species you produce. What makes it mainstream, if you can use that word, are the technologies that are used.

GG: So taking the commonalities between the various crops produced under glass – it could be greenhouse tomatoes, or cannabis, or some tropical plant for a big box store – how would you advocate for that knowledge exchange between the disparate groups?

MD: Exchanging knowledge between the different growers on the different crops makes it of course very worthwhile. And that is what GreenTech is all about, to exchange that knowledge and share that knowledge across all the markets.

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