Asheville company C3L Associates takes urban farming to the UAE and Africa

Food Insecurity and Food Deserts problem solved here and beyond by local couple

C3L Associates, the parent company of Asheville Urban Farms has been asked by the organizers of The Global Forum forInnovations in Agriculture  in Abu Dhabi Feb 3-5 2014. to conduct a pathway to controlled environmental agriculture solutions sessions for 12 African Nations.

The Africa keynote session is one of several programme items at the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture. The multi-faceted event will also feature: an exhibition and conference; an Incubator zone; an Innovation Zone curated by the University of Arizona, where working models of some of the most inspiring innovations in agriculture today will be featured; Technical Tours to a range of sustainable agriculture projects in the UAE; a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Farmer Focus, where a dedicated program will educate GCC farmers on the benefits of sustainable agriculture; and an NGO Zone, where NGOs, development agencies and charitable foundations can meet and share ideas.

Anthony and Sherrye Coggiola, the developers of Asheville Urban Farms, Dr. Elizabeth Porter, an agricultural economist at UNCA specializing in development, humanitarian assistance and sustainability and John Wear president of Trident Environmental Services and Technologies Corporation ,whose nature cooperative bioremediation designs have proven effective in marsh restoration deployments along the U.S. Gulf Coast where he met Anthony while developing solutions for the BP oil spill in 2010, will travel together to Abu Dhabi for the conference.

“We plan to return to Asheville with an even greater understanding of the most efficient ways to feed the world and our neighbors” states Anthony when asked what his ultimate goals are for this conference.

Anthony and Sherrye will spend 2014 traveling the US and Canada seeking the most innovative companies to join them at the 2015 event.