A government plan to develop a vertical-farming industry on the island is back on track.

The development stalled last November after Kalera — the US company partnering with the Government — suffered heavy financial losses and eventually filed for bankruptcy.

But the Bermuda Economic Development Corporation, which is spearheading the initiative on behalf of the Government, has confirmed that Kalera had been bought out by another firm that is interested in working in Bermuda.

Erica Smith, the BEDC’s executive director, said that Dutch-based company Growy took over Kalera’s overseas operations this year.

Ms Smith said: “Since then, Growy’s co-CEOs have e-met with BEDC, reviewed the vertical farming project, and reconfirmed their strong interest in moving forward with the project in Bermuda as soon as possible.”

Ms Smith said that the possibility of a vertical-farming industry was now stronger under Growy’s leadership.

She said: “With Growy's technological and growing knowhow, the proposed project is anticipated to be even more viable.

“Growy brings an excellent network within the Dutch horticulture industry and strong ties to leading Dutch agricultural research institutions to the table.

“The Growy team is not only committed to the farm project itself, but also to contributing to the local food production scene on the island as a whole, with the details of this still to be developed further.”

In a statement, the company said: “Growy is an indoor vertical-farming company from Amsterdam dedicated to improving the global food system by providing tasty, healthy and affordable greens.

“Growy achieves this using next-level technologies such as robotics, machine learning and agile ways of working, which are combined with decades of experience in agriculture to build and operate financially profitable indoor vertical farms.“

The Government first unveiled plans for a single vertical farm in 2020. Last year that plan was expanded when Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, confirmed that the Government was hoping to create a vertical-farming “industry”.

The initiative was also selected as one of four central planks of the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan.

But if the project does get off the ground, it will face competition from a Bermudian-owned company that is also developing plans for a factory, with the backing of other experts from the Netherlands.

Entrepreneur Colin Campbell is seeking to transform an office block in Hamilton into an urban farm.

As reported in today’s Business section of The Royal Gazette, Mr Campbell’s company, Bermuda Vertical Technologies, has retained the services of Dutch-based consultant Delphy to advance the project.

In a separate development, Ms Smith said that the BEDC had received 14 expressions of interest to bring an acre of abandoned agriculture-zoned land back into production through a co-operative.

The plot, located within Blue Hole National Park and surrounded by woodland reserve, has been left fallow for several years and is now overgrown.

Ms Smith said: “Some expressions of interest included controlled environment agriculture technology.

“A food co-operative is one of the desired outcomes of the project. The project team are meeting with those who expressed interest and progressing the next steps of the project along with the Ministry of Public Works as partners.”