Water and Horticulture Top Sectors sign ‘Circular Netherlands’ collaboration agreement

Loek Hermans, the standard bearer of the Horticulture & Propagation Materials Top Sector, and Hans Huis in ’t Veld, the standard bearer of the Water Top Sector, signed a collaboration agreement at the Aqua Trade Fair Netherlands in Gorinchem. The two top sectors will be working together on an innovation programme to make the country’s greenhouse horticulture, outdoor horticulture and agriculture into the most circular in the world, and to further enhance food security in the chain. At the TKI Water Technology stand the two standard bearers and other visitors to the fair learned about the projects – including those of KWR – that are already underway in the field of water and horticulture.

The research programme responds to the big challenges confronting horticulture and agriculture, such as:

Meeting the high water-quality requirements for irrigation water (low sodium concentration, desalination).
(Re)circulating water and using nutrients efficiently.
Reducing emissions of plant protection products and nutrients into the environment.
Obtaining microbially safe water.

From left to right: Wim van Vierssen and Jos Boere of KWR, Loek Hermans and Hans Huis in ’t Veld.

The programme aims to combine the strengths of different top sectors to tackle various aspects of water (quality), emissions and nutrients. This is the only possible way of finding new answers to the above challenges.

KWR and TKI partners will remain at the Aqua Trade Fair Netherlands, where they will also be drawing attention to the collaboration with the Energy Top Sector and with industry (ISPT).