“The interest in microgreens  as a potentially high-value crop first came about during the 2008 financial crisis. At that time, many people were interested in starting a business in agriculture, and initially, research focused mostly on how to produce microgreens. But over the years, it became clear that there’s a lot more to microgreens than using them for garnishing food, as chefs have been doing. Microgreens are very nutrient-dense, and they can play an important role in ensuring nutrition security.

“I define microgreens as seedlings produced from sprouting vegetables, cereals, herbs, or legumes. They are the phase of a plant before it becomes something else and when there’s a higher nutrient density than the actual plant, and they only take one to three weeks to harvest. My research has focused on increasing the nutritional value of microgreens in terms of mineral profile, bioactive compounds, and antioxidants. We also look at manipulating the growing system: Playing with the light, for instance, could increase vitamin C and phenolic compounds. Mixing different microgreen species can further increase nutritional value.

“We have published papers making the case for microgreens as a nutrition security resource, in places like refugee camps, for instance, in conflict situations, or in emergencies like hurricanes. If people in such situations are supplied a fast-growing microgreen kit, they would be able to fulfill some of their nutritional needs in the short term. There are challenges—funding is one. In refugee camps, space is limited. And local partners are needed. But it is an idea we would like to take forward.”