Signify launches virtual Center of Excellence for smarter, more sustainable urban vegetable farming
Signify has announced the launch of its first global virtual horticulture knowledge center.
The center will provide profound research insights and advanced lighting solutions for growers in Singapore and the region that will help Singapore and Asia produce local, pesticide-free vegetables grown in a sustainable way.
The center is Signify’s first virtual horticultural knowledge-based research center. It aims to enable urban growers to access knowledge residing with Signify’s teams and specialists, expertise in its proven growth recipes and its portfolio of products and services. Research insights gathered by Signify’s physical research hubs, the GrowWise Center in Eindhoven and BrightBox in Venlo, since 2015 will also be made available over this virtual center.
The center covers all critical knowledge required to successfully build a vertical farm or modern greenhouse including plant science, lighting application, Internet of Things (IoT) control and engineering design. Through the center, apart from sharing its international expertise, Signify also aims to grow its presence in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.
As a region with one of the most rapidly growing urban populations, Asia needs to grow food more sustainably and smarter to feed its people. For Singapore, food security is a pressing issue as the majority of its food is imported and supply disruptions due to the pandemic have increased the urgency to build a more resilient food future.
Signify seeks to support Singapore’s “30 by 30” goal to build up its agri-food industry’s capability and capacity to produce 30% of nutritional needs locally and sustainably by 2030. With the support of the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), Signify will boost the ability of local vegetable growers to achieve high-quality crops and higher yields by tapping into the more than 150 growth recipes the company has developed and the center’s research bank to implement technology such as integrated climate control systems that create the ideal growing conditions for crops.
“As the global leader in horticulture lighting, Signify’s Centre of Excellence for Horticulture will play an important role in helping Singapore achieve its ‘30 by 30’ food security goal through its partnerships with local institutes and urban farms. We look forward to working with Signify to grow Singapore into a leading hub where innovative Agri-Food Tech solutions can be developed and commercialised to sustainably feed the world,” said Damian Chan, Executive Vice President, Singapore Economic Development Board.
“Signify is committed to bringing more than 80 years of experience in horticulture lighting and our spectrum of science-based lighting solutions to help growers in Asia navigate challenges in indoor farming. The Center of Excellence will act as a one-stop knowledge and expertise resource supporting farmers to move towards sustainable food production,” said Rami Hajjar, Cluster Leader for South-East Asia, Signify.
“The success of any urban farming endeavour requires not only the right technological solutions but knowledge in optimizing growth recipes that determine the ideal growing conditions for achieving better results. Through the new Center of Excellence, Signify will share deep insights cultivated over many years of research to growers in Singapore and put them on the best possible path to achieve higher yields, enhanced taste and increased level of nutrients and vitamins in crops,” said Jitender Khurana, Country Head and Managing Director, Signify Singapore.
Supporting food availability through horticulture LEDs illustrates our commitment to supporting good health and wellbeing (SDG3). It is key to our commitment to doubling the percentage of our revenues for brighter lives, which benefit society, to 32%. This is part of our Brighter Lives, Better World 2025 program, which was launched in September 2020.
