In an old factory in the north Spain there is a culture of hops, which are grown with the help of technology – with the use of LED lamps, which adjust the brightness according to the needs of the plant. Fungi, heat, storms – none of these can harm the plants. In addition, the growers also use a special fertilizer, which is much more efficient, and an air conditioning system that ensures the maintenance of the optimal temperature. From 2025 it will be possible to harvest on a weekly basis and not once a year, as is the case in the fields.

The Spanish startup “Ekonoke” believes that this way of growing indoors, also known as indoor-farming, is the only possibility of survival for certain agricultural products. “These include hops, one of the essential ingredients of beer,” says Ines Sagrario, who presents the project.

The 50-year-old is one of the four founders of this pilot project, which has sparked the interest of many brewers from around the world. Especially for countries like Spain, which suffer from climate change, indoor-farming could be the only way, since it ensures the saving of a significant amount of water.

Searching for new solutions due to climate change

Sagrario has worked for many years as a business consultant. And her assessment is that international supply chains will never work again as before the pandemic: “This is also related to the end of fossil fuels, but also to new geopolitical conflicts and climate change of course. That is why agricultural crops must be closer and closer to production and everything must work within a circular economy”, explains the expert.

As Spain does not want to lose its role as the “garden of Europe”, many regions, such as Andalusia, are looking in collaboration with companies such as Syngenta for new solutions for growing produce – for example with the hydroponic technique. The aim is to protect the plants from the increasingly unstable and warmer weather.

Technological revolution in agriculture

Indoor-farming is still new in Spain – but its usefulness is likely to be decisive. “Everywhere there are problems, in many places the climatic conditions burden the crops and the harvests are reduced, with the result that the prices of various basic products are constantly increasing,” Sagrario points out. The price of olive oil, for example, has reached 10 euros per liter, while increases were also observed this year in the prices of oranges.

In the first half of 2024, it rained more than last year, “but not all consumers and farmers have yet understood that weather forecasts and a clear distinction of seasons are a thing of the past. So we have to adapt to the constant fluctuations of the weather, but also adapt our crops,” says Juan Antonio Polo, technology specialist of the International Olive Council of Madrid.

With an eye on the future

The Catalan food production company Vall Companys, with an annual turnover of more than four billion euros, is also innovating with an eye on the future.

The company has a farm in Liedia, the so-called Farm 5.0, where 3,300 pigs are raised with the help of cutting-edge technologies. Their weight is automatically measured while they eat, while their breathing is controlled with special sensors. Thus, the company thoroughly controls all stages of the pigs’ lives until they reach the consumer. Also, the pigs are given special food so that they do not excrete a lot of nitrates, which are harmful to the soil and groundwater. Of course, not all of the company’s farms are like Farm 5.0 – but the goal is to bring the rest to a similar level.

What Vall Companys is doing is also being done by other Spanish competing companies such as Campofrío and El Pozo. This is also the reason why Spain has managed in a few years to lead the pork production industry, but also to offer the meat at cheaper prices.

The eternal water problem

According to experts, new irrigation technologies will dominate almost all crops. However, water will continue to be a problem for the Spanish, because it is not yet certain where the growers will get the necessary water. Desalination plants remain expensive, rainfall is becoming increasingly unpredictable, and groundwater levels are also declining.

According to agronomist Rafael Alvarez, sustainable indoor-farming is not economically beneficial on a large scale. “Currently this practice only makes sense for products that are more rare, such as hops or cocoa. There should be an industry behind, which will undertake to make the initial investments”, explains the expert to DW.

However, Ekonoke has succeeded, having found a financially strong customer: the Hijos de Rivera brewery, which also produces Estrella Galicia beer.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas