Denso invested in Dutch company Certhon as part of its Long-term Policy 2030 under which it identified agriculture as one of the key non-automotive sectors to focus on
Image: Denso invests in Dutch company Certhon. (Credit: Certhon.)
Japanese automotive technology supplier Denso has invested in Certhon Group, the Netherlands-based greenhouse provider, to expand horticulture business worldwide.
Certhon sells large-scale greenhouse solutions with advanced technology in more than 20 countries and aims to maximise profits for growers.
Denso and Certhon will collaborate to develop and provide greenhouse solutions.
The Japanese company claims that with the growing world population, food demand is increasing while the amount of agriculture production is decreasing because of demographic ageing, unstable wages and strict work environment.
On the other hand, environmental issues caused by climate change and abnormal weather patterns have also affect agricultural production.
In order to tackle global food-related issues, it is necessary to establish stable and agricultural production by saving on labour and reducing heavy work and to create a cultivation environment that is not affected by climate.
Denso aims to develop automated indoor farming solutions in the future
With the capital alliance, combined with the horticulture business knowledge of Certhon, Denso aims to develop next-generation greenhouse technologies such as automated indoor farming and sell greenhouse package solutions tailored for diverse needs of countries across the world.
Denso Group launched its Long-term Policy 2030, in which identified non-automotive businesses as one of its four focus areas and has defined agriculture as a key pillar under the non-automotive field.
As part of this strategy, it established AgriD with Asai Nursery in 2018 and had built one of the largest greenhouses in Japan where operations are conducted 24/7, with cooperation between farmers and robots to reduce workload.
In the future, the company plans to contribute towards sustainable agricultural production through industrialisation and will provide new value to the agri-food sector by establishing a food value chain business.
Certhon had recently signed a contract in UAE with Madar Farms under which it will develop an indoor farm in the country to produce tomatoes, later this year. The facility is expected to increase Madar Farms’ operations in growing local food for local consumption. It will also contribute to the company’s challenges of tackling food and water scarcity challenges.