08.13.21
A new sustainable cocoa farming project, carried out by a partnership between ingredient supplier Cargill and vertical farming company AeroFarms, will build upon ongoing efforts to grow cocoa sustainably by using a fully-controlled environment that can help researchers understand plant biology, climate impacts, and novel production practices.
“Environmental challenges and growing demand for cocoa products are placing increased pressure on the global cocoa supply chain,” Niels Boetje, managing director of Cargill Cocoa Europe, said. “Through partnerships with research institutes, universities, and innovative companies like AeroFarms, we are collaborating across sectors in bold experiments to bring greater productivity and resiliency to traditional cocoa farming operations. WE look forward to sharing our findings with the farmer cooperatives in our cocoa supply chain to help ensure a thriving cocoa sector for generations to come.”
AeroFarms will utilize its expertise in controlled environment agriculture, while Cargill will utilize its knowledge of cocoa agronomy and production practices. Together, the two organizations will experiment with different indoor growing technologies including aeroponics, hydroponics, light, carbon dioxide, irrigation, nutrition, plant space, and pruning to identify the optimal conditions for cocoa tree growth.
The project will target a number of insights, including faster tree growth, greater yields, accelerated development of varieties with enhanced pest and disease resistance, and unlocking the cocoa bean’s flavor and color potential, Cargill noted, stating that these outcomes will be helpful in making the future supply of cocoa beans more resilient to climate change.
“AeroFarms shares a similar vision as Cargill to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way,” David Rosenberg, co-founder and CEO of AeroFarms, said. “We have grown over 550 different crops, and we are excited to be working on another project with them, this time focused on cocoa. At AeroFarms we think of our proprietary technology as a platform to optimize plant biology, genetics, mechanical systems, operational systems, environmental systems and digital controls, data capture, and analytics. Genetics and speed breeding is one of the verticals where we focus. Applying our platform to optimize cocoa growing is one way that AeroFarms can have a broader positive impact on the world.”
Exploratory work has already begun at AeroFarms’ global headquarters in Newark, NJ, and will soon expand to the company’s AeroFarms AgX Research and Development indoor vertical farm in Abu Dhabi, UAE, which is slated to open in 2022.
“Environmental challenges and growing demand for cocoa products are placing increased pressure on the global cocoa supply chain,” Niels Boetje, managing director of Cargill Cocoa Europe, said. “Through partnerships with research institutes, universities, and innovative companies like AeroFarms, we are collaborating across sectors in bold experiments to bring greater productivity and resiliency to traditional cocoa farming operations. WE look forward to sharing our findings with the farmer cooperatives in our cocoa supply chain to help ensure a thriving cocoa sector for generations to come.”
AeroFarms will utilize its expertise in controlled environment agriculture, while Cargill will utilize its knowledge of cocoa agronomy and production practices. Together, the two organizations will experiment with different indoor growing technologies including aeroponics, hydroponics, light, carbon dioxide, irrigation, nutrition, plant space, and pruning to identify the optimal conditions for cocoa tree growth.
The project will target a number of insights, including faster tree growth, greater yields, accelerated development of varieties with enhanced pest and disease resistance, and unlocking the cocoa bean’s flavor and color potential, Cargill noted, stating that these outcomes will be helpful in making the future supply of cocoa beans more resilient to climate change.
“AeroFarms shares a similar vision as Cargill to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way,” David Rosenberg, co-founder and CEO of AeroFarms, said. “We have grown over 550 different crops, and we are excited to be working on another project with them, this time focused on cocoa. At AeroFarms we think of our proprietary technology as a platform to optimize plant biology, genetics, mechanical systems, operational systems, environmental systems and digital controls, data capture, and analytics. Genetics and speed breeding is one of the verticals where we focus. Applying our platform to optimize cocoa growing is one way that AeroFarms can have a broader positive impact on the world.”
Exploratory work has already begun at AeroFarms’ global headquarters in Newark, NJ, and will soon expand to the company’s AeroFarms AgX Research and Development indoor vertical farm in Abu Dhabi, UAE, which is slated to open in 2022.
