The horticulture sector in the Netherlands is a global leader due to technological advancements, knowledge of greenhouse cultivation with high productivities and low resource usage, and entrepreneurship. The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of vegetables in the world, and more than half of its land area is used for agriculture with some greenhouse complexes covering 175 acres. However, to retain this leading position, the sector has acknowledged that it needs to keep innovating. To further reduce waste and environmental impact, an innovative production strategy is being developed to support a circular economy: the circular greenhouse. LDE Greenport Hub is an entity of the strategic alliance of the Universities of Leiden, Delft and Erasmus and is focused on horticulture scientific research and education in collaboration with major horticulture industry partners (such as sector association LTO Glaskracht). It has initiated 'Mission to Mars', a program to boost innovation and development of the circular greenhouse by adopting concepts and technologies from space. Space is inherently focused on circularity because of scarce resources. A good example is the MELiSSA concept of the European Space Agency in which human waste is broken down into nutrients for crops and algae by a series of bioreactors. The crops and algae consequently provide food and oxygen for the crew again. The Mission to Mars program started with a lecture series in the beginning of 2018 at the World Horti Center, a horticulture business and innovation center in Naaldwijk. In seven lectures different aspects of sustainability and circularity were explored together with researchers, students, growers and horticulturists. The lectures covered (1) energy, (2) water, (3) lighting and climate, (4) soil, substrate and plant health, (5) material and energy streams, (6) digitization and automation, and (7) urban and vertical farming. It quickly became clear that not only terrestrial horticulture could benefit from space technologies, but that human space exploration could equally benefit from the technical and tacit knowledge of growers and horticulturists for food production in space. A list of potential research topics was identified. These topics are to be explored in a follow-up ESA Innovation Exchange, together with space technology partner ICE Cubes. The goal is to go beyond the circular greenhouse and demonstrate how space itself can be an environment for plant biology innovation, and hence increase future food security on Earth.@en

The horticulture sector in the Netherlands is a global leader due to technological advancements, knowledge of greenhouse cultivation with high productivities and low resource usage, and entrepreneurship. The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of vegetables in the world, and more than half of its land area is used for agriculture with some greenhouse complexes covering 175 acres. However, to retain this leading position, the sector has acknowledged that it needs to keep innovating. To further reduce waste and environmental impact, an innovative production strategy is being developed to support a circular economy: the circular greenhouse. LDE Greenport Hub is an entity of the strategic alliance of the universities of Leiden, Delft and Erasmus and is focused on horticulture scientific research and education in collaboration with major horticulture industry partners (such as sector association Glastuinbouw Nederland). It has initiated ‘Mission to Mars’, a program to boost innovation and development of the circular greenhouse by adopting concepts and technologies from space. Space is inherently focused on circularity because of scarce resources. A good example is the MELiSSA concept of the European Space Agency in which human waste is broken down into nutrients for crops and algae by a series of bioreactors. The crops and algae consequently provide food and oxygen for the crew again. The Mission to Mars program started with a lecture series in the beginning of 2018 at the World Horti Center, a horticulture business and innovation center in Naaldwijk. In seven lectures different aspects of sustainability and circularity were explored together with researchers, students, growers and horticulturists. The lectures covered (1) energy, (2) water, (3) lighting and climate, (4) soil, substrate and plant health, (5) material and energy streams, (6) digitization and automation, and (7) urban and vertical farming. It quickly became clear that not only terrestrial horticulture could benefit from space technologies, but that human space exploration could equally benefit from the technical and tacit knowledge of growers and horticulturists for food production in space. A list of potential research topics was identified. These topics are to be explored in a follow-up ESA Innovation Exchange, together with space technology partner ICE Cubes. The goal is to go beyond the circular greenhouse and demonstrate how space itself can be an environment for plant biology innovation, and hence increase future food security on Earth.@en

In the horticultural fresh food supply chain network in the Netherlands, a crisis is emerging. The market is out of balance and many growers are facing bankruptcy, in the period of 2011–2013, 50% of the growers were not able to pay interest and redemption. Trust between participants in the supply chain network has decreased. This chapter presents the currently not established and identiies design requirements for new systems to address this challenge and provide directions for possible improvement. As a result, this chapter introduces the concept of SamenMarkt®, a participatory system in which multi-agent system technology enables distributed price negotiation, distribution and communication between producers, retailers and consumers. A SWOT analysis of the concept of SamenMarkt® is provided together with a research and development plan in which simulation and emulation create the basis for stakeholder- and participant involvement in the design process of a distributed digital market place. Further research aims to study how SamenMarkt® can provide a solution space for the emerging global food crises. At present, we are using agent-based modelling to simulate the present market and scenarios. The next step will be to build the actual agent-based platform for real-time negotiations and business intelligence.@en