Researchers are giving horticulture a modern twist, with a new $8 million glasshouse built at the University of Western Sydney.

All vegetables produced in the massive structure are currently donated to Foodbank.

The National Vegetable Protected Cropping Centre at the Hawkesbury Campus is a partnership between the University of Western Sydney and vegetable growers' levies through the R&D corporation — Horticulture Innovation Australia.

"The combination of an ageing horticulture industry in Australia with a fast-moving technological landscape and a rising global demand for food means this centre has never been more critical," Horticulture Innovation chief executive John Lloyd said.

Protected cropping in Australia has been hampered by a lack of dedicated research for Australia's harsh climate.

The renowned Dutch Wageningen University is a world leader in glasshouse innovation, and has partnered the University of Western Sydney with this centre.

Unequalled in Australia due to its combination with research, the glasshouse is a large 1700m2 design with features to make it sustainable and productive.

It has smart glass in two of the eight chambers, in a research project combined with the RMIT, to test the optimal light spectrums essential for photosynthesis, and reduce the heat.

Lead researcher Dr David Tissue, an expert in climate change and ecology, said gas in the glasshouse had been modified to demonstrate the impact of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, which have just passed 400 ppm.

Vegetable production of the future: 'fertigation', smart glass, increased CO2 levels and optimum temperatures, at new $8m glasshouse built at the University of Western Sydney. ( Supplied: Horticulture Innovation )

"The CO2 concentration in the glasshouse is currently 405 parts per million," he said.

"Plants use CO2 for photosynthesis, and so if we raise the levels of CO2 we should be able to increase the productivity of crops.

"CO2 is both beneficial for photosynthesis, but it's also a heat-trapping gas.

"So while we can use it under controlled conditions to increase productivity, when CO2 is raised outside in the atmosphere, it traps the heat, so it increases temperatures, changes precipitation cycles, and we get higher incidences of drought and flooding."

Rainwater is collected off the glass roof into a 200,000 litre tank, cooled at night, and recirculated through the glasshouse to keep temperatures down in the daytime.

The plants are all grown hydroponically, suspended from the roof with string, their roots in a medium are delivered just the right dose of fertiliser in the water, through 'fertigation'.

Trials at the glasshouse have already demonstrated the increased production compared to outdoor cropping.

"Testing cucumbers and capsicum, we saw regular peak harvests of more than 250 kg a week of produce," the university said.

"The produce was able to be donated to Foodbank NSW and ACT for the benefit of local communities."

Intensifying production is seen as the answer to urban encroachment in peri-urban areas.

Sydney's expansion plans are set to cover more valuable agriculture so that we may lose 60 per cent of our current food production by 2030, according to the University of Technology Sydney.

"Ninety-two per cent of fresh vegetable production could be lost, 91 per cent of meat and 89 per cent of eggs, under the current planning system that does not prioritise agricultural land," the Sydney Food Futures report stated.