Co-owner Ard Stoutjesdijk welcomed the minister and took him on a tour through the lab and cultivation area, where ferns are being produced from tissue culture.
With the newly developed and patented lettuce cultivation concept, one can grow lettuce without having a green thumb. However, one needs to have a high-tech cultivation box. Besides that, literally everything is already in the cultivation bag; 0.5 liter of water with fertilizers. To compare: a lettuce crop that is being cultivated on the traditional manner requires 40 liter of water. Moreover, no crop protection products are needed when cultivating lettuce in a bag.
Proud
"We are eager to export our knowledge", says Stoutjesdijk, "but we do not feel the need to start any production facility abroad." Core business is - and will remain - the production of ferns, on the very same location in the Netherlands. However, Vitro Plus is eager to export the know-how relating the innovative lettuce growing concept. Besides, the same type of cultivation seems to work for other crops too. Therefore Vitro Plus is looking for a large - 'and preferably a very large', says Stoutjesdijk- partner to collaborate with.
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