Heather Wheeler has paid a visit to Light Science Technologies in Hilton, one of the region’s leading Agritech businesses which is enjoying a buoyant period of growth.
Heather was shown around their purpose-built facilities by Innovation Director John Matcham and the rest of the team.
Amongst other aspects, they look at what benefits different plants could bring to humanity both now and for future generations. These range from simple things like growing British strawberries in winter to plants which extract valuable metals from the ground without the use of traditional mining.
They have developed incredibly advanced lighting which when used to grow plants, either in the ground under polytunnels or vertically, produce yields far in excess of that currently achieved and all in an organic and sustainable way.
Using their technology could mean we are able to grow crops which we currently have to import thereby increasing our home-grown food supply, a positive benefit to our economy and to helping the planet. All their work ties in well with the Government’s recently released National Food Strategy, which aims to create a ‘prosperous’ agri-food industry while supporting the environment and tackling food security.
John said: “It was the perfect chance to showcase our grow lighting and sensing capabilities we’ve developed for the controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry, as we urgently seek a radical change in the future of food production and ensure more sustainable, self-sufficient methods of farming. It was also a great opportunity to further shine the spotlight on the region as a fast-expanding hotbed for investment and a national hub for GreenTech. With the £300m SmartParc development, along with plans for the new £13m East Midlands Institute of Technology (IoT), there’s never been a more exciting time to be part of tech innovation or the CEA sector here in South Derbyshire.”
Heather said “Innovation Director, John Matcham and Marketing & Communications Manager, Alice Brothill explained clearly the science behind the technology and Chaunching “CC” Foo showed me the products of their experiments which included wonderful looking strawberries. I was delighted to hear of their working relationships with both the University of Derby and Nottingham Trent University, demonstrating the vital role these local partnerships play in its scientific and technological development. On what I have seen I believe their methods and products could have immense benefits for us all in so many ways and I will be pleased to speak to the relevant Ministers to ensure the right people get to know about this amazing company."
