NatureSweet Hosts Arizona Higher Ed to Discuss Role of CEA in Industry

NatureSweet® recently welcomed representatives from the University of Arizona’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Eastern Arizona College to tour the largest high-tech greenhouse complex in North America and discuss the potential future of continued Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) in Arizona.

NatureSweet incorporates unique and innovative growing techniques that save water and support the company’s commitment to sustainability. “CEA leverages science and engineering to maximize food production and optimize the use of resources including water, energy, land, capital and labor,” said Murat Kacira, Director of the University of Arizona’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Center—a global leader in CEA research and innovation for more than two decades. “CEA provides a number of benefits, such as predictable crop timing and yield, consistently available produce with high quantity and quality, resource efficiency and minimal environmental impact.”

“We use Controlled Environment Agriculture to grow all our great-tasting tomatoes and other vegetables,” said Skip Hulett, NatureSweet’s VP and General Counsel. “This means substantially less water, pesticides and depletion of the land. CEA is critical to the future of agriculture and food security.”

NatureSweet is the largest Equitable Food Initiative and fair trade-certified company in the world for greenhouses. The company plans to create an Innovation Center in the United States, a place that will be dedicated to research, development and the cultivation of new ideas within the agricultural industry.

“I am thrilled about the opportunity to effectively collaborate and co-create with academia, seed companies, technology providers, start-up companies, customers and consumers,” said Martin Ruebelt, NatureSweet’s Chief Scientific Officer. “The Innovation Center will accelerate innovation and technological advancement. It will solidify NatureSweet’s position as a thought leader in the industry.”

The exact location of the Innovation Center has yet to be determined.