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Researchers at Wageningen University are experimenting with the sustainable cultivation of natural vanilla. A consortium of growers and scientists is examining whether it is possible and economically feasible to grow vanilla in Dutch greenhouses. This should provide a solution to the shortage of the expensive spice of which yearly a ton is lacking in production.
photo: Wageningen UR
The researchers believe that there is a market for sustainably grown vanilla from the Netherlands. "There is an increasing demand for natural, organic products," crop researcher Filip van Noort told Dutch daily newspaper Trouw. "In Dutch greenhouses organic vanilla can be produced with the lowest possible footprint. Nowadays greenhouses are very energy-efficient and water is reused as much as possible."
The consortium is working with Wageningen University and the Hortus Botanicus of Leiden, among other things to establish whether the researchers are working with the right species.
photo: Wageningen UR
"That is the advantage of the Netherlands. Businesses and educational institutions exchange knowledge here," according to Wilko Wisse, involved in the study as an executive from tomato nursery Lans. "This enables horticulture to make great strides. We’ve done it in the past with tomatoes, among others, and we will soon potentially also be able to do it with vanilla."