In modern agriculture, it is well known that the lack of Agri knowledge and management are among the main obstacles to the development of productive, feasible, and profitable cultivation of agricultural crops.
Over the last three decades, China and Israel have strengthened their partnership in agriculture through investments in various projects involving Israeli farming technology. Despite this important relationship, so much more can be accomplished. Intensive greenhouse practice in China is still looking to achieve high yields with good quality, as well as top food safety standards. China is a vast country with a diverse climate, a growing population with improving living standards, and millions of farmers seeking to adapt to contemporary agricultural practices. Therefore, technology alone cannot ensure that new alternative approaches in modern agriculture will take hold across the country.
Beyond technology, effective agriculture requires extensive industry knowledge and experience. Growing-Smart is an international agricultural project development firm that draws upon years of direct Agri experience and Agri industry knowledge to ensure its clients’ success.
They provide complete planning and execution of agriculture projects, including engineering, technical, agronomic, and financial services. Growing-Smart’s mission is to secure the profitability and sustainability of its clients’ investment by planning an optimal enterprise in the most economical and efficient way, based on the specific environment and field conditions.
The unique approach of Growing-Smart was key to its recent project in Leping, Jiangxi, China.
Leping is a county-level city in the northeast of the Jiangxi province, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jingdezhen. In spite of being a relatively small town in China, Leping has demonstrated how beneficial the integration of greenhouse technologies has been in the Agro development of the prefecture and the province overall.
In 2017, the city of Leping, helped pave the way for the design and development of Growing-Smart’s flagship project for the city and province. The project farm includes 100,000 square meters of advanced greenhouses, allowing for year-round production of high-quality greenhouse vegetables, and equipping it to face the challenging climate of Leping.
The project’s initial conceptualization was completed by Growing-Smart’s expert team, and was based on the collection of pertinent environmental data, including climate, water quality, underground water analysis, and infrastructure parameters. Since the facilities were located on a riverbank, a specialized ground engineer was invited from Israel to guide local teams in all the ground infrastructure and drainage management. As the Leping region is prone to massive floods every few years, these expert teams were crucial towards ensuring the project’s success.
The greenhouses on the farm are advanced structures designed and manufactured in Israel. They are mainly covered with polyethylene films and are equipped with the latest growing technology, including climate systems which control temperature and humidity. In addition to climate controlled technologies, the greenhouses have a soilless growing system, advanced control system, and even a Smart Rover that will travel throughout the greenhouse rows, sensing and taking images for Growing-Smart’s expert teams who will support the agronomic needs of the project as soon as the first planting commences.
The project includes greenhouses starting from 5000 to 7000 square meters in size, three greenhouses dedicated to growing strawberries in hanging gutters, and natural climate-controlled structures.
In addition, there are two hybrid greenhouses with glass walls and “F-Clean” roof cover, a unique ETFE film from Japan, providing the highest light transition among all other greenhouse covers, including glass. The “F-Clean” structure provided by Profit-Agro, Growing-Smart’s exclusive greenhouse structures provider, is the first of its kind in China.
These greenhouses will grow trellised vegetables on hanging gutters, provide shading and thermal screens, utilize hot water heating systems, and even offer a unique visitor platform to showcase the crops inside the greenhouses in a safe and hygienic way.
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To illustrate the full extent of the project, the farm also holds a variety of other greenhouses in addition to the aforementioned. Three greenhouses on site will serve to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and trellised melons. Another greenhouse is equipped with hydroponic water pools with storiform floating rafts used to grow an extensive range of lettuces and fresh herbs. The hydroponic system provided by Growing-Smart is one of the most successful proven hydroponic systems on the market. Profit-Agro, the complete hydroponic system developer, has been very successful with this system in Africa, Asia, and Israel.
And finally, a 5,000 square meters commercial nursery will enable the farm and surrounding farmers in the community to meet the seedling requirements for their open field and greenhouse crops.
Growing-Smart and the city of Leping will use this project to explore new technologies, growing methods, genetics, and general Agro knowledge. All of this valuable research will be provided by Growing-Smart’s team of agronomists who will be based both on site and available for periodical visits.
This farm project and the Growing-Smart team are planning to build warm relations with the farmers of the county. And with the support of the local province official, new developments and future projects are not only expected to arrive in the Jiangxi province, but are also set to expand across China.
