Strawberry farmers can boost urban crops through knowledge exchange

Added on 07 February 2024

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Strawberry farmers can boost urban crops through knowledge exchange

Photo: Harper Adams University

The research – which was published this week – has been drawn together by three Harper Adams researchers and a vertical farming technology and data company based in London.

It seeks to examine both the opportunities that new urban farming systems can present – and the challenges they currently face.

PhD Student in Indoor Strawberry Production at Harper Adams and Scientist at Vertical Future, Katia Zacharaki, said: “In the pioneering landscape of urban horticulture (UH), the cultivation of strawberries appears to be exciting due to environmental and year-round fruit availability, yet it is also a challenging endeavour for new urban farmers and businesses.

As demands for locally produced food escalate, the integration of strawberries into revolutionary urban growing systems becomes imperative.”

Throughout their paper, the researchers worked to address the pressing challenges faced by urban growers in incorporating strawberries into their portfolio of crops, emphasising the crucial need for knowledge exchange between established commercial rural producers and the newer, urban farmers.

Katia added: “While we need to appreciate that there are idiosyncrasies in all urban growing systems, ranging from outdoor soil-based systems -such as allotments and community gardens - to indoor soil-less ones like those used in vertical farming, we need to accept the baseline plant cultivations methods are well researched and established for commercial growing applications.