Growing more with less

GRODAN

The global food production system is under pressure. According to the UN, the global human population reached 8 billion in mid-November 2022, adding 1 billion people since 2010. This number is expected to grow by nearly 2 billion in the next 30 years, creating unprecedented demand for food, and hence agricultural land. We need to find more sustainable ways of feeding a growing, more urbanised population. Grodan’s innovative stone wool substrates and solutions enable modern horticulture to increase production while using fewer natural resources.

Grodan, part of ROCKWOOL Group, collaborated with Wageningen University in the Netherlands to quantify the positive impact of growing tomatoes and cucumbers in Grodan horticultural growing media compared to greenhouse-grown, soil-based crops. The results were significant. For example, Grodan products sold in 2022 resulted in an estimated 111 million litres less water used, equivalent to the drinking water needed to sustain 152,000 people for a year, and covered 32,745 fewer hectares, the equivalent of 95 times Central Park.

In places where agricultural land is scarce, new and innovative forms of food production hold the key to feeding city dwelling populations. Grodan hydroponics Precision growing using Grodan hydroponics can be sited anywhere. Ensuring sustainable food production anytime, anywhere in the world. For example in urban areas that would otherwise be completely unsuitable for traditional soil-based production. Or in a desert climate, where water and fertile land are very scarce. In countries like Saudi Arabia, water used for agriculture is usually extracted from deep water resources. Extensive use can deplete these precious resources and diminishes their quality. Several growers have stopped production due to poor water quality. To address this and other sustainability challenges, the national research centre Estidamah in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, performs applied research to test and adapt innovative technologies.

 For high-tech greenhouse growers and other horticulture professionals, Grodan is providing efficient, sustainable growing solutions for the future.

[Source: Sustainability Report 2022 (rockwool.com)]

Grodan hydroponics can be sited anywhere, including
in urban areas that would otherwise be completely unsuitable
for traditional soil-based production.