17 organizations signed an agreement Wednesday morning which calls for a series of research programs, construction of a center of excellence and the building of additional private infrastructure similar to AppHarvest’s farm that opens this fall in Morehead.
In the agreement, the group committed to opening a Dutch representative office in Kentucky to spur investment in the state by Dutch companies, which are recognized as the world’s AgTech leaders.
AppHarvest CEO Jonathan Webb says the U-S needs to build 18 thousand acres of high tech ag production to bring production back from Mexico.
Signatories to the agreement include the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature & Food Quality, Directorate International Affairs. - Commonwealth of Kentucky’s Office of the Governor - Dutch AgTech companies Dalsem, Signify, Certhon, Light4Food, Priva and Rijk Zwaan, The Netherlands' HAS University of Applied Science and Fontys University of Applied Sciences, The University of Kentucky, Morehead State University, University of Pikeville, Eastern Kentucky University and Berea College - Dutch public-private network organization NLWorks and AppHarvest