Aruba could become home to the world’s second Floating Farm, after the Aruba Ports Authority (APA), the Ministry of Tourism and Floating Farm signed a memorandum of understanding to explore building one in Schoenerhaven, Oranjestad, in a deal reported October 27.
Under the MoU, the parties will jointly develop a business plan and assess the technical, financial and operational feasibility of a floating farm in the harbour. The agreement was signed on Monday, October 26, during a visit to Floating Farm in Rotterdam’s Merwehaven, near Schiedam.
Who signed, and where
Minister of Tourism, Labor and Transportation Wendrick Cicilia and APA representative Marc Figaroa formalised the intention together with a Floating Farm representative during the Rotterdam visit. The signing is a first step: the parties will now determine whether the project is technically, financially and operationally viable before any decision to build.
The Rotterdam concept
The Floating Farm concept, introduced in Rotterdam in 2019, produces food closer to consumers while reducing transport and waste. It combines local food production with education and a visitor attraction. Floating Farm co-founder Peter van Wingerden is quoted in the reporting on the concept and its aims.
If developed in Schoenerhaven, Aruba’s floating farm would be the second of its kind in the world, after Rotterdam’s.
Cruise tourism and a livelier downtown
Cicilia highlighted the concept’s particular appeal for cruise tourism: a floating farm near the harbour could offer passengers a different, innovative experience and create activity between the cruise port and downtown Oranjestad, fitting efforts to revitalise the city centre and improve its infrastructure and public space.
He also pointed to the project’s social and educational value and its potential contribution to food security on the island — producing food locally, closer to the people who consume it, as part of a more sustainable development model.
What happens next is the feasibility work itself: a business plan and the technical, financial and operational assessment set out in the MoU. No construction decision has been announced; the October 26 agreement commits the three parties to investigate the project together.
Sources: 24ora (English)
