In Georgia, Controlled Environment Agriculture is paving the way to new markets and new possibilities.

As the demand for local, fresh produce grows, more and more Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) companies are setting up shop in Georgia to supply crops that are not typically grown in the state.

CEA is an agriculture system that grows produce indoors, allowing farmers complete control over light exposure, temperature, humidity, and other factors. In Georgia, this means crops like lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, and varieties of herbs, can be grown in greenhouses, vertical farms, and even smaller shipping container farms all year long. This reduces the need for chemicals and pesticides and creates a dependable, year-round crop, providing full time careers.

Of all the agribusiness sectors in Georgia, CEA is the fastest growing. This is largely due to efforts at the Georgia Center of Innovation, which has placed consistent focus on bringing CEA technology to the Peach State.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 94% of the lettuce in the country comes from California and Arizona. But with drought conditions worsening, companies have been looking for creative solutions to meet ever-growing demands. Because agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Georgia, the state was already equipped with the ecosystem and resources CEA businesses need to be successful: we just needed to get those companies on board.

When Center of Innovation team members started researching CEAs and reaching out to businesses, they found companies were hesitant to locate in Georgia due to misconceptions about heat and humidity, insects, operating costs, and other risks. To overcome this hurdle, the Center of Innovation started meeting with companies from the Netherlands to learn about the technology available, and created an event for potential CEA businesses to learn more about what the State of Georgia has to offer.

“More than eight years ago when the drought in the Southwest caused a potential shortage of 94% of the fruits and vegetables that we consume, we recognized two things: that we had a food security issue, and that Controlled Environment Agriculture was the answer,” said Costas Simoglou, Director of Energy Technology at the Center of Innovation. “So, we partnered with Southern Company, the City of Atlanta, and Agritecture out of New York to hold ‘AgLanta,’ a CEA-focused annual conference. Over the four years we held the conference, it became a way for CEA companies to understand that Georgia was interested and understood their needs.”

As a result of these targeted efforts from the Center of Innovation, the state landed its first large CEA facility, Pure Flavor, in 2017 in Peach County. Turns out, it took just one company buying in to start the CEA wave in Georgia.

Five years later, Georgia is home to nine CEA companies, including Kalera, a company from Orlando, Florida, that located to Georgia in 2020. Within the past couple of years, Pete’s, Bowery Farming, 80 Acres Farms, and Gotham Greens became the latest CEA ventures in the state.

These new CEA facilities are complementary to Georgia’s current agriculture system, not only producing leafy greens that weren’t previously grown in the state, but also providing Georgians with fresh produce grown right here in Georgia. The Center of Innovation’s assistance directly contributed to an increase in the number of CEA businesses in Georgia, paving the way for continued AgTech innovation in the state.

“While we have worked with many Controlled Environment Agriculture companies, the Center of Innovation can help any type of agribusiness. If you have hit a roadblock, think there might be a better way to do something, or just need to know who to go to for a problem, the Center of Innovation is here to help,” said Chris Chammoun, Director of AgTech at the Center of Innovation.

For more information about Controlled Environment Agriculture and the AgTech industry, visit georgia.org/AgTech. To connect with the Center of Innovation to identify ways it may help your Georgia business, visit georgia.org/center-of-innovation.