from Valentina Bonazza 2 mins
Microgreens, vegetables, hemp, but also flowers and mushrooms: this is what can grow inside repurposed end-of-life containers. How? Thanks to Demetra, the innovative project of the Brescian agronomist Daniele Bertocchi, who, after some experience in the world of traditional agriculture, decided to throw himself into a new project with great potential, the result of his own journey and the world around him.
In 2019, Bertocchi, together with Camilla Paletti, founded GreatIt, , a start-up and benefit company in Rezzato (BS), from which Demetra, the project for modular and fully customisable turnkey vertical farms, came to life. "After graduating in agronomy, I began my career in the world of agricultural unions, where I dealt with the bureaucratic aspects,' Daniele Bertocchi tells us, 'but I wanted to get more involved and become an agricultural entrepreneur. So I started to inform myself and study more about the world of vertical farms and microgreens. It was thanks to a farmer who was involved in the greenhouse cultivation of microgreens that I was able to delve deeper into the topic and understand what the problems of greenhouse cultivation could be: a closed and monitored environment could make all the difference'. Brescian agronomist Daniele Bertocchi, who, after some experience in the world of traditional agriculture, decided to throw himself into a new project with great potential, the result of his own journey and the world around him.
From here begins the path that will lead the two entrepreneurs to the realisation of Demetra: from the identification of end-of-life containers to be reconditioned to the internal design of the structures that will house the crops, passing through the creation of a dedicated software, Demetra Connect. The software, owned by the company, allows remote control of all the equipment inside Demetra, constantly monitoring the environment: light, humidity, water, temperature. "When Demetra was still just an idea in my mind," Daniele explains, "we presented the project to Sicom Spa because we wanted to have a partner who could share with us an experience of more than 50 years in the world of special containers. Sicom Spa is therefore not only a trusted collaborator, but also a partner of GreatIt".
GreatIt also has relationships with several technical suppliers such as C-LED for the LED lighting of crops, which varies according to the growth phase of the plant and the type of crop, and allows a 30% saving in electricity consumption. Partners also include Idroterm, which deals with the supply of irrigation and fertirrigation materials, Monti&C - Tecnologia del freddo, which deals with the air conditioning and climate management part of Demetra, and Sicom Spa, for the containers. The young startup therefore offers a plug and play product and an all-round service from design to start-up and training. "We are also working on making the Demetra system completely autonomous from an electrical point of view," Daniele explains, "while, as far as water is concerned, there is a saving of almost 99% compared to traditional cultivation. For example, a classic 40-ft Demetra container requires around 25 litres of water per week," he explains.
How does it work? Demetra (which, like GreatIt, is a registered trademark) is a true closed modular system of hydroponic vertical farms, created inside an end-of-life and upgraded container. Thanks to an 8 cm thick lining, the internal temperature is kept constant despite any external fluctuations. Inside, the structures can be completely modified according to the types of crops (even more than one within the same container) to be grown. On the structures rest separate flow and reflux tanks - and customisable in height, length and number - to handle different varieties and different stages of development, which have LED lighting and fertigation systems to keep the parameters of the nutrient solution perfect at all times. In addition, it has an irrigation system and cisterns that ensure that no water is wasted: what evaporates or is not used returns to the cistern.
"Everything is enclosed inside a container, which is therefore transportable by definition,' Bertocchi explains. 'For this reason, they lend themselves to being rented or sold potentially in any location, even the most inaccessible or unsuitable for traditional agriculture. We address numerous interlocutors: from the large-scale retail trade wanting to produce locally, to farms that wish to focus on vertical farming or on different crops, but also research bodies, research and development laboratories and universities. In addition to these, there are non-profit associations, which could use them to help people in more disadvantaged areas to cultivate and have fresh vegetables, rich in vitamins and minerals, with an extremely low demand for energy and water, available at all times, regardless of the climate'. Demetra in fact adapts to many crops: not only microgreens and baby leaves, but also aromatic or officinal herbs, mushrooms, hemp, saffron, salads, flowers and plants for transplanting or grafting. Demetra can therefore be an excellent ally for all those farms that want to focus on increasingly sustainable agriculture, for healthy products with a lower environmental impact.
Copyright: Fruitbook Magazine
