Peter van Wingerden's Floating Farms: Transforming City Food Systems from the Water

In the bustling metropolis where concrete meets chaos, a quiet innovation is unfolding on water. Peter van Wingerden, the visionary behind Floating Farm Rotterdam, is challenging the status quo of agriculture by taking it to new heights—literally. Imagine farms floating on rivers, lakes, and ports, seamlessly integrating into urban landscapes to deliver fresh, sustainable food right where it’s needed most.

Since 2019, van Wingerden’s Floating Farm has been redefining what’s possible in food production. This groundbreaking concept not only tackles the pressing issues of climate change and urban sprawl but also brings food production closer to city centres, slashing transportation emissions and reconnecting citizens with their food sources. This visionary approach, which van Wingerden calls "TRANSFORMATION," envisions cities designed around sustainable farming, promoting both environmental stewardship and community well-being.

In this exclusive interview, Peter van Wingerden unveils how Floating Farm is setting a new standard in urban agriculture and what it means for the future of our cities.

Exclusive Interview With Peter Van Wingerden Is CEO And Founder Of Floating Farm

Q. What was the driving force behind the birth of Floating Farm?

About 15 years ago, we saw three major impactful trends in the world: 1) the growth of the world population and the move into cities (urbanisation), 2) climate change, and 3) the reduction in the availability of food quality inside cities due to long food miles combined with too many food losses and too many people still without food or access to it.

Q. Sustainability is paramount in today's world. How do floating farms contribute to climate-smart agriculture, and how can they be a model for more sustainable food production in general?

Our goal is to produce healthy food close to consumers in this climate-changing world. We see every day how droughts impact the agricultural sector. Heavy rainfall, flooding, and sea-level rise also massively impact the yield of food production. Being on the water, we are unaffected by droughts, rainfall, flooding, or sea-level rise because we are already on the water. Food needs water, and we always have access to it. With a growing human population (demand) and scarcity of resources, we need to find alternative food production systems.

We apply all kinds of technologies to produce local, sustainable food in a very effective way. We are also fully circular: we collect organic waste streams from the city to feed our cows. Our cows turn the waste streams (and the collected rain and river water) into proteins that go back to the city and the citizens. By building on the water, our farm is very scalable and also reproducible everywhere in the world (water is a universal medium).

We are local, organic, efficient, and transparent. We reduce food miles and food losses. We enhance the quality and freshness of food, with all its essential vitamins, fibers, and proteins. We offer transparency and build awareness by doing all of this in the city, close to the consumers.

Q. Your first farm focuses on dairy. What are your plans for future iterations?

Our first farm with dairy has already expanded to include vegetables. For the past two years, we have been testing a vertical vegetable farm in the same floating building. The manure and urine of the dairy cows are used as organic fertilizer for the vegetables, and the leftover vegetables go back as feed to the cows. In September 2024, we will significantly expand our vegetable farm in the same (current) building. We have the knowledge to operate dairy and vegetables for several years now, and we have finished a floating farm design with chickens, goats, and mushrooms. The next step could be fish, but for now, we can already produce a great variety of vitamins and proteins in a very sustainable way.

Q. Technology plays a crucial role in modern agriculture. What cutting-edge technologies are currently being utilised or explored at Floating Farm, and how do they contribute to efficiency and optimisation?

We collaborate with outstanding universities in the Netherlands on high-tech food production, energy production, water treatment, and circularity. We use sensors to measure and monitor all processes and build our own data dashboards. We have our own technology to turn urine into irrigation water and to convert manure into fertilizer and bio-based building materials. We also have our rain and saltwater collection and filtration installation running. We turn collected water into drinking water for the cows, as well as cleaning and processing water. One of our next steps is to produce small-scale hydrogen from the collected water sources.

Q. Water scarcity and waste management are major concerns. Tell us how Floating Farm integrates with existing water infrastructure and contributes to a more circular food system.

Being on the water (port, sea, lakes, rivers), we solve the problem of water scarcity for food production. We always have water or access to water. We purify the water sources ourselves (both rainwater and port/river water). Freshwater is essential for food production, and the current system of agriculture is not working well. We use too much water and generate too many food miles. We need to design, build, and test new ideas and applications in as many different climate circumstances as possible. Floating Farm is one of those highly innovative solutions that can be tested everywhere in the world.

Q. Looking ahead, paint a picture of what agriculture might look like, incorporating concepts like floating farms and other disruptive technologies. What role do you see Floating Farm playing in this transformed landscape?

In the near future, we will move towards hybrid landscape farming in and around cities. The local climate and landscape in and around cities will determine where we can produce what type of food. Water, parks, undergrounds, deserts, forests, high-rise buildings, etc., will all play their role in the production of food (both plant and animal-based), fully integrating heat, cold, water, energy, and data. All of this will be close to the consumer. Transparency, awareness, and the reduction of food miles and food losses are key drivers in design. Floating Farm has set the bar for an innovative, integrated new way of thinking about food production and processing.

Q. As a pioneer in sustainable agriculture, what advice would you offer to entrepreneurs and industry leaders who are seeking to create a more positive impact on the planet through food production?

My advice would be to change the rules of city design, reduce the number of limitations in regulations, and try to picture a long-term, disruptive food production landscape. We already advise and consult cities on this new local landscape optimisation and look forward to working on more cases.

Q. As a speaker at the Gulfood Green Food For Future Summit, what are you most looking forward to about the event?

At Gulfood Green’s Food For Future Summit, we will share our vision, designs, and plans for the Gulf region and look forward to discussing them with partners in the food space, technology suppliers, and governmental decision-makers.

Peter van Wingerden’s Floating Farm represents a bold leap into a new era of urban agriculture. By harnessing the power of water and cutting-edge technology, van Wingerden is not only addressing critical environmental challenges but also forging a new path towards a more sustainable and connected future for our cities.

Stay tuned for more insights from Peter van Wingerden at the Gulfood Green Food For Future Summit from 24-26 September at the Dubai World Trade Centre, where he will further illuminate the path towards a greener, more sustainable food system. Register to attend here.