New building project of 11 ha for pepper cultivation in Germany

'Local for local' is a much discussed trend. But the project of five pepper growers on the South-German island Reichenau in the Bodensee proves that it's not all talk. Together the five realised an 11 ha building project set out to Dutch standards. Due to the size and the 'Dutch' approach the five Germans' pepper project deserves the title unique. Matthias Keller, one of the five growers, spokesman and president of growers organisation Reichenau speaks of logical choices. "We chose Priva, because the company is the global leader in the area of climate computers. The knowledge and know how present is essential for the realisation of our plans", said Keller, who is also very satisfied with the collaboration and combining of knowledge between Priva and the performing installation company Cogas Zuid.

The growers from Reichenau opt completely for the Dutch school. The greenhouse, the heating and a large part of the project management was realised by Dutch companies. "The knowledge in growing peppers in Holland is certainly of a very high level", clarifies Keller.

Charles Dings of Cogas Zuid says that the new Piva Connext process computer fits in especially well with this building project in Germany. "It had to be an ultramodern complex, because the electric and climate technical installation consists of a: Priva NutriJet fertilizing doser, a CO2 meter Digi Fans (digital ventilators) , Priva Root Optimizers on the five separate sub-segments in the complex, a Plant temperature camera and two Priva Vialux HD/UV water purifiers."

The project has one WKK and two kettles. They work on gas, although using wood or coals is still standard in Germany.

The five growers (Clemens Blum, Thomas Werle, Tobias Jorg, Matthias Rückert and the aforementioned Matthias Keller) come from the island Reichenau, in the Bodenmeer. The island is known for the high quality of the vegetable cultivation and has its own auction: Reichenau Gemüse EG. The auction concluded a few years ago that extending the production area would be good. But since 2000 the island has been on UNESCO's world heritage list. This made extension of the horticulture impossible. An appropriate solution was found on the mainland. The pepper project was built in Beuren an der Ach, close to the town Singen. The five growers are now moving to the new location in the South-German state Baden-Württemberg, close to the Swiss border.

Reichenau Gemüse's wish to extend the vegetable production was cranked up by one of the largest German supermarket organisations EDEKA. "Local for local really is becoming a trend in Germany", says Dings. "The south of the country is ahead of the rest in this. German retailers want German fruit and vegetables in the shelves more and more."

The supermarket chain placed the wish for its own pepper company at Reichenau and the auction turned to the ca. five hundred growers on the island. The five mentioned before became the partners of the ambitious project in the end. Together they will run the new company 'Reichenauer Gärtnersiedlung'. Everyone has an equal say: decisions are made together. "A unique chance for us as growers", says Matthias Keller. "Everyone knows each other at Reichenau. So the collaboration should be good."

On the 11 ha company peppers are grown in the colours red, green, yellow and orange. Every grower has an area of around 2.2ha for their own. The sales are through Reichenau Gemüse, but of course the retailer plays a crucial and lucrative role in this. Reportedly all the peppers from the harvest in 2012 have already been bought by the supermarket. Local for local is a much discussed trend, but it's definitely not just talk!

Source: Priva