Having grown up helping out at her father’s high-tech plant nursery in Mexico, it was a logical step for Paula Rico Silva to study horticulture. She is now nearly three quarters of the way through her bachelor’s degree at HAS Green Academy in the Netherlands. To complement her studies, she attended the Plant Empowerment Summer School as a student participant in 2024. The event surpassed Paula’s expectations with some mind-blowing insights, and has inspired her to keep chasing knowledge, innovation and new ways of growing.
Summer School userstory
Paula Rico
A shared love for growing
Paula Rico Silva is the daughter of Pharis Rico, owner of the high-tech propagation facility called Plantanova in Michoacán, Mexico. “My father’s nursery is not that big – only 1.5 ha – so the focus is on making every single square metre count. As a result, he’s very into data-driven growing and automation, and he likes to be an early adopter of new technology,” says Paula.
“By helping out in the nursery in the summer holidays, I learned the fundamental skills such as sowing, pinching and grafting. Then in my gap year I got more involved in things like integrated pest management (IPM) and the implementation of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and the LetsGrow platform,” she adds.
Combining theory with practice
To get a more thorough understanding of the theory, Paula was keen to study horticulture – and she decided that the Netherlands was the best place to do that. “I am now in my third year of the four-year bachelor’s degree in Horticulture and Business Management at HAS Green Academy in Den Bosch.” Despite being just 22 years old, Paula already has first-hand practical experience of many aspects of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) – not only at Plantanova, but also thanks to doing a minor in high-tech solutions for the agricultural sector and a number of internships, including at BASF | Nunhems and Hoogendoorn Growth Management.
The Plant Empowerment philosophy is not new to her either. “My father works with the Plant Empowerment principles at his nursery. In fact, he wrote the foreword for the Spanish version of the book,” she states. “Meanwhile, we learn a lot about Plant Empowerment at HAS because this plant-centric philosophy forms the basis for the curriculum. Also, most of our teachers work or have worked at leading companies in the industry, so they often share real-life examples with us,” she explains.
Beyond the basics
This has given Paula a lot of the basics, but she is still keen to go into more depth and learn about the actual strategies that growers should use. Therefore, when she heard about an opportunity to attend the Plant Empowerment Summer School as a student participant in June 2024, she jumped at the chance. Although she was very excited, she was also a little apprehensive before the event. “I was afraid of feeling inferior due to being the youngest, least experienced person in the room. But as soon as I arrived, I was made to feel so welcome by everyone – the participants, the consultants and the organisers – that my nerves immediately vanished,” recalls Paula.
Sharing insights and experiences
The fact that there was a very broad mix of attendees also helped her to feel more at home:
“Our group had around a dozen participants from many different countries – ranging from Western and Eastern Europe to North America, Asia and even Australia. The scale of their activities varied from a huge farm spanning a couple of hundred hectares, to someone with a low-tech greenhouse who was keen to get started with data-driven growing. And one person had no industry experience at all, but was looking for a way into the horticulture sector,” she continues.
According to Paula, the Summer School not only helped her to put her existing knowledge into perspective, but also revealed some valuable new insights. “I found it really interesting to learn more from Svensson about the different types of screens and how to develop an effective screening strategy. From an energy perspective, I think that everyone was surprised to hear that a lot of heat can still be lost even if it is a clear and sunny day outside,” she comments.
What stayed with her the most was the deep dive into substrates with Cultilene. “The rootzone is really fascinating, and it was truly mind-blowing to hear how the logistics of dryback and drippers can have such an impact on the health and productivity of a plant,” adds Paula. “I was also very impressed by how willing everyone was to openly share their experiences – not only the other participants, but also the consultants, who talked honestly about their real-life struggles and challenges during the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge, for example.”
Learn by asking questions
Looking back, Paula says that the event actually surpassed her already-high expectations: “I loved listening to the consultants and trying to absorb all their knowledge. l learned best by asking questions, and I seemed to be constantly raising my hand, but no one ever got impatient with me. Everyone was really friendly and helpful.”
“So no matter your age, your background or your location, I can recommend the Plant Empowerment Summer School to everyone,” she continues. “Despite being a five-day course, the intensity was balanced by the open and light-hearted atmosphere. And I know it can be difficult for growers to make time for themselves and leave their greenhouse in someone else’s hands while they’re away, but it’s 100% worth it. There’s a new way of growing out there, and the smartest thing to do is get on board that bus as soon as possible,” advises Paula.
Chasing knowledge, innovation and new ways to grow
With just over a year of studying to go before she completes her bachelor’s, Paula is already thinking about her next move. “Being surrounded by so many knowledgeable people helped me to realize what excites and inspires me. What I really admire about all the Plant Empowerment partners is their passion for pushing the boundaries and achieving even more efficiency by reducing the use of resources or optimizing the yield per square metre. When it comes to my future career, I now know that I want to continue to develop new knowledge, chase innovation and contribute to new ways to grow,” she concludes.
A deep dive into the philosophy
Advanced Summer School Day 2025