Agrotopia Living Lab

To stimulate sustainable urban and greenhouse horticulture, further developments are required in using residual streams (heat, water, and CO2), recycling of resources, automatization, climatization and maximizing use of available space and energy efficiency. As the knowledge partner of agricultural and horticultural businesses in the areas of innovation and sustainability, Inagro tailors solutions to their needs. Inagro’s new high tech research infrastructure to support the Living Lab is the 9000 sqm Agrotopia rooftop research greenhouse on top of the agricultural market in Roeselare. Six thousand sqm cultivation area, a compartment for multilayer indoor growing with artificial lighting and a 12 m high vertical compartment allow to co-create, develop, validate, and demonstrate innovative best practices for vegetable hydroponic systems. Agrotopia’s location, at the agricultural auction market, where growers and buyers meet daily, offers a unique opportunity towards interactions. It allows researchers, growers, technology providers, knowledge institutions, educators, and society to meet, collaborate, and co-create. To further stimulate this multidisciplinary approach, Agrotopia provides a unique platform to the Ghent University Agrotopia endowed chair, and the greenhouse is open to the growers and the general public. The Agrotopia Living Lab delivers the services to realize co-creation in this unique setting.

Areas of work:

• Agriculture and (Agri-)Food