Introduction symbiocultures: a pathway for greenhouse innovation In 2011, a group of us at Except Integrated Sustainability, introduced Polydome, a greenhouse production model based on a new paradigm for agriculture called Symbioculture. Symbioculture presents a radical departure from business as usual in agricultural production: rather than focusing on the idealized production of a single crop (as a monoculture), it instead proposes the production of many crops, fungi, livestock, and insects in a complex polyculture. It is designed to approximate some aspects of a natural ecosystem with self supporting plant and animal interactions, and the creation of ecological “niches” within the system that reduce need for mechanical and chemical interventions. Polydome was the first Symbioculture design for greenhouse conditions. The original Polydome study was primarily commissioned to explore new pathways for greenhouse innovation in the Netherlands. The Polydome approach has many potential benefits both in terms of ecological performance (for example, the internal recycling of waste flows) and socioeconomic benefit (the production of high, diverse yields for local retail sale). However, it also presents many new challenges in terms of production knowledge and marketing approaches. APPLYING POLYDOME After its publication, Polydome garnered worldwide attention in sustainability-focused media outlets and was a semi-finalist in the 2012 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. The pathway from concept to implementation remains complex. This study takes the ideas proposed in Polydome a step further and explores how and in which context they could realistically be applied to existing Dutch greenhouses. Within this report we present three sets of crop combinations that illustrate the potential value of a polyculture approach to greenhouse producers. These crop combinations do not represent the full Polydome design, which includes layering of hydroponics with soil production as well as the inclusion of fish and livestock. The complimentary products from aquaculture and livestock production are essential sources of the original plan’s profitability. The crop combinations in this document are instead an exploration of a potentially realistic step along the path from existing greenhouse culture to a different product and market approach. This approach focuses on diverse, local sales at high margins. It requires different kinds of labor inputs and more market coordination, 6 / 64 but has the potential to bring higher profits directly to the producer if complimented with intelligent sales strategies. OPPORTUNITIES FOR INNOVATION As it has continued to mature, the Dutch greenhouse sector has rapidly consolidated, with the number of companies in the sector falling from over 16.000 in 1960 to around 6.000 at present. In recent years, the sector has also been under additional strain due to difficult economic conditions. Record numbers of greenhouse growers have registered losses in the past few years of economic downturn. Pressure from large food buyers like supermarkets has forced unprofitably small margins on food products, allowing only the largest operations to continue functioning comfortably. Due to these combined trends, many greenhouses in the Netherlands now stand empty or have become unprofitable for their owners. These empty or unprofitable greenhouses represent an opportunity for innovation. Pagina 5
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