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Asturias launches Spain's first underground greenhouse

The Government of Asturias has launched a unique project that converts an old mine shaft in Laviana into Spain's first underground greenhouse. The initiative is part of the Agroalnext program, funded by regional resources and European Next Generation funds, which seeks to lay the foundations of future agriculture: Green, digital, and climate-resilient.

On Wednesday, the Minister of Science, Industry, and Employment, Borja Sánchez, visited the facilities of the experimental project. The site is being used to test substrate-grown crops are being tested under energy-efficient LED lighting.

© Principáu d'Asturies

The pilot trial is being carried out in the La Raya gallery of the Carrio well and includes five plant varieties: Sprouts for culinary use, aromatic plants, leafy greens, wasabi, peas, mushrooms, and salicornia, a halophyte plant that adapts to extreme environments. The goal is to discover which species can adapt to an underground environment, thus enabling a new, sustainable, and energy-efficient form of cultivation.

The project was implemented by the Regional Agri-Food Research and Development Service (Serida) within the framework of the Carrio innovation hub with the support of the Hunosa mining company, owner of the mine. Asturian company Cantábrica Agricultura Urbana, specialized in indoor crops using vertical farming systems, which are capable of recycling water and operating without exposure to sunlight, was in charge of the project's technical development.

The project promotes Agriculture 4.0 as a future economic possibility for former mining regions in Asturias. The results of the experimental phase will serve as a basis for exploring future greenhouses in underground facilities, which will be able to use the water and energy from the old exploitations to be sustainable and self-sufficient.

Borja Sánchez highlighted this initiative as key to giving a new, innovative, and technological use to the old mines: "This underground greenhouse represents a firm step towards the agriculture of the future. The project combines science, technology, and sustainability to deseasonalize crops and promote forms of production that help us face climate change and territorial development challenges."

The use of underground spaces, such as mines or bunkers, for cultivation is already happening in the United Kingdom, Italy, and Finland. But this is the first time in Spain that former mine galleries are being used for this purpose. Underground cultivation offers advantages: constant temperature and humidity, lower energy consumption, and the possibility of year-round harvesting.

The mining agriculture project aligns its objectives with the European "Farm to Fork" strategy and with the World Health Organization's One Health approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems.

For more information:
Principáu d'Asturies
actualidad.asturias.es

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