Controlled environment agriculture

Controlled environment agriculture, CEA for short, is an umbrella term which encompasses a range of technologies and growing environments. This includes protected growing under structures such as polytunnels and glasshouses, and often includes smart technologies for monitoring and remote management of glasshouses right through to vertical farming, where fresh produce is grown in stacked layers under LED lighting.

Technologies are being developed at all levels to manage every aspect of the growing environment – lighting, temperature, humidity, nutrient delivery, irrigation, harvesting and cultivation – and to automate where possible.

Aquaponics (raising fish in tanks at the same time as growing plants without soil) also falls under CEA. The nutrient-rich water from the fish tanks provides a natural fertiliser for plants and the plants help purify the water for fish.