Vertical Farming: Turning Deserts Into Fresh Food Hubs

August 10, 2021

Vertical farming technologies allow for collecting the humidity produced by plants. With recirculating and recycling techniques, hydroponic and aquaponic systems can reuse 98% of water, which makes vertical farms feasible in deserts.

Deserts and arid lands are commonly perceived as worthless. Because of this image of the world’s drylands, agricultural investments and development initiatives pass these regions by. Moreover, with the new NASA food challenge, it seems like AgriTech enthusiasts would rather attempt to cultivate plants in space than in desert environments on their native planet.

Taking up 41% of our planet’s landmass, arid zones have always been seen as marginal for agriculture. But thanks to technological advancements, they can produce fresh food and compete on the global market. How? By adopting next-generation technologies like vertical farming.

How vertical farming enables agriculture in deserts  

The most fascinating thing about vertical farming technology is that it brings food production to regions with no arable land. Crops grow indoors, stacked in layers under LED lights. Most vertical farms rely on hydroponic, aeroponic, or aquaponic methods, as they don’t require soil. Anything “hydro” and “aqua” may seem inappropriate for arid lands, but these methods are extremely water efficient.

And here’s what thrills me a lot: While most barren lands suffer from aridity, agriculturally developed regions waste tons of water. Even though modern smart irrigation systems do help reduce water use on traditional farms, water is still lost because of wind and evaporation. On the contrary, vertical farming technologies allow for collecting the humidity produced by plants. With recirculating and recycling techniques, hydroponic and aquaponic systems can reuse 98% of water, which makes vertical farms feasible in deserts.

Vertical farms ensure plants have exactly what they need

The ultimate goal of vertical farming technology is to get the highest possible yield by precisely meeting plants’ needs. One can believe me or not, but it works like magic. 

After the vertical farming facility is built and all equipment is installed, a complex network of IoT and analog sensors comes to life. They measure gases and nutrients, humidity, light, and temperature inside and outside the farm. Additionally, the monitoring system takes photos and videos of plant growth. Then, all this data is transferred to secure cloud storage via edge gateways.

This provides a huge volume of raw data that can be integrated into AI-based software and analytics platforms. Built-in machine learning algorithms can match plant images against a huge database and learn to recognize plant types as well as deviations in their growth. The analytical algorithms can process plants’ growth data and correlate it with microclimate measurements to find the perfect combination of environmental factors for particular crops.

The final flourish is data visualization. User-friendly dashboards present calculations, analytics, and prediction results in meaningful histograms and neat reports. Having vertical farming software installed on any device, owners can get real-time insights into farm health and make data-driven decisions.

Basically, a vertical farm is a premium luxury ultra-all-inclusive spa resort for plants. 

The vertical farming market has huge potential

An ever-changing climate along with the depletion of soil nutrients and groundwater have accelerated the adoption of vertical farming technology. The coronavirus pandemic has also contributed. The risk of supply chain disruptions has underscored the need to locate vertical farms near distribution routes and intended markets.

With many drivers igniting the industry, the global vertical farming market will reach USD 11.71 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 20.1% according to Emergen Research. But we’re only at the advent of vertical farming in terms of technology. Innovative advancements are expected to reduce costs and improve the efficiency of plant growth in vertical farms, giving us high hopes for the future.  

Desert reality: vertical farming or nothing

Some skeptics may consider vertical farming advantages controversial. But with temperatures reaching +40 degrees Celsius (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit), just a few days of rain a year, and barren sands, deserts don’t seem like suitable places for any other agricultural practices. In addition, climate change promises to make these lands even drier, hotter, and less valuable. Being land-agnostic and capable of conserving water, vertical farming is a reasonable option for arid lands. This ingenious method of producing food in deserts might be a springboard to economic development of arid regions. 

Boosts the local economy 

Local economies have attracted a lot of attention recently. And guess what I consider to be a remarkable contribution to developing local economies? Right, vertical farms near desert cities. The more often and the faster a dollar circulates in a region, the more income it creates. Studies also show that the most prosperous communities gain and sustain their wealth because they have the highest percentage of jobs in local businesses. Such communities still engage in global trade, but they import only things they can’t supply themselves.

Reinforces food security

The coronavirus pandemic has spotlighted local food production, making it more of a necessity than a luxury. Countries that heavily rely on food imports are now striving to achieve food security and resilience more than ever. And the risk of food supply chain disruptions is less imminent with several vertical farms near megalopolises. Because indoor environments are independent of outside weather conditions, vertical farms ensure reliable harvests to meet delivery schedules and supply contracts.

Decreases prices for fresh food

Besides ending dependence on imported food, vertical farming in close proximity to cities lowers the cost of products. Since food prices are linked to oil prices, delivery distance is an influential factor in food costs. The shorter the distance food travels, the less it costs. Additionally, local produce is fresher, as it isn’t stored in fridges for long during delivery. On top of that, vertically farmed crops are healthier than field-grown crops and are naturally flavorful, as strict biosecurity procedures in indoor farms eliminate plant diseases and the need for pesticides. 

Creates new jobs

Among other vertical farming advantages are the job opportunities the technology provides. Yes, an indoor farm doesn’t require much manual labor due to automated growing systems and robotics. Nevertheless, it creates a lot of new jobs in farm construction and management, plant cultivation, technology development and support, distribution control, and personnel management. 

Uses energy sustainably

Although a 30-story vertical farm needs 26 million kWh of electricity, it can generate 56 million kWh through biogas digesters and solar panels. The excess energy can be transferred back to the grid and bring additional income.

Given the technical opportunities, market potential, and benefits for communities, I struggle to find a rational explanation as to why large desert areas still lie unused. Fortunately, some early adopters have already recognized the potential of arid lands. 

The challengers who have already succeeded

However challenging the idea of growing crops in hostile climates may seem, some daring companies are already leveraging high-tech techniques of vertical agriculture and running successful businesses, boosting food production in their countries.

The Al-Badia market garden farm is among these pioneers. The daily harvest of the Middle East’s first commercial vertical farm is two hundred boxes of greens, including radishes, kale, mustard, basil, and arugula. The multi-story setup is on an 800-square-meter plot of land in one of Dubai’s main industrial areas. Al-Badia serves nearly 70 local caterers and restaurants, providing fresh and pesticide-free products that wouldn’t be available otherwise.

The driest state in the USA, Nevada, has become home to a 20,000-square-meter hydroponic vertical farm built by Oasis Biotech. Besides catering to the needs of the Las Vegas restaurant industry, the company has created its first consumer-facing brand, which is currently sold through a local distributor. While most US produce travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles before reaching the consumer, Oasis Biotech ensures its goods are delivered within an average of four miles and go from harvest to plate within 36 hours. 

In Australia — a country that is 53% deserts and drylands by landmass —vertical farming technology is also being adopted. Stacked Farm’s two locations (200 and 4000 square meters) focus on salad greens, leafy vegetables, and livestock feed. But what’s more exciting about these farms is that they’re fully automated, from planting the seeds to harvesting and packaging the produce. Nevertheless, Stacked Farm doesn’t intend to take work away from farmers but rather to support farming communities that are suffering through drought or during off seasons. 

Deserts are no longer deadlands

Vertical farming technology is certainly a game changer for regions with severely hot climates. Once a dryland gets a vertical farm, it stops being a deadland and becomes an advanced hub of fresh food. Vertical farming pioneers will be remembered as the kick-starters of thriving desert economies. The first to build a vertical farm in a desert will most likely be the first to start getting profits from desert farming and eventually become a frontrunner in the industry.

Source: Agritech Tomorrow

Vertical Farm Specified Seeds With Open-Source Licensing

By Rebekka Boekhout

August 10, 2021

When thinking of vertical farming, we usually think of rows of lettuce or herbs all neatly placed under purple LED lights. However, if it were to Rosario Iacono, founder of Kasveista, vertical farming should be all but limited to leafy greens. Kasveista’s mission is to expand vertical farms with all other crops through extensive research.

“For me as an agronomist, seeds have always been the most fascinating stage of a plant’s life. Without seeds there is no agriculture,” Rosario explains. “When I became interested in vertical farming, I was shocked to find out that the whole sector relies on seeds developed for open-field or greenhouse environments. Developing seeds specifically for the vertical farming sector can strongly increase the sector’s profitability. After all, the range of benefits for vertical farming will be obtained only if it produces the same range of food that is now produced in traditional agriculture.”

Read the rest of the article here

AeroFarms Is Trying To Cultivate The Future of Vertical Farming

By Jesse Klein

August 10, 2021

2021 is turning out to be quite the year for Newark, New Jersey-based vertical farming pioneer AeroFarms. 

The biggest news is that the company is going public. In March, it announced a merger with a blank-check firm, Spring Valley Acquisition Corp., that will see the company traded publicly later this year under the ticker ARFM. Also in March, AeroFarms announced a research and development partnership with Hortifrut to push vertical farming technology into the lucrative $39.8 billion berry market, reducing its dependency on revenue from leafy greens. And in July, AeroFarms rebranded its Dream Greens produce line to AeroFarms to capitalize on its name recognition. At the same time, it expanded into five new leafy green products: Baby Bok Choy, The New Spinach, Micro Arugula, Micro Broccoli, Micro Kale and Micro Rainbow Mix. And in August, AeroFarms announced another partnership with Nokia Bell Labs, the New Jersey-based historic scientific research firm, to take its technology to the next level with increased networking, advanced autonomous systems, machine vision and machine learning technologies.

The company is obviously picking up steam. The public market offering and the capital gained during the process will be crucial for AeroFarms to reach the next level of its growth and to achieve several strategic expansions, including improving operational and energy efficiency, adding into new products (right now it’s focusing on berries), and maintaining its social impact.  

"We told investors, we view this as a long-term industry," CEO David Rosenberg said. "It is going to be massive. We feel we have a strong leadership position in the industry from a technology standpoint. So how do we build upon that and really double down on the tech producing [capital expenditures], reducing [operating expenses] and improving quality as well as new varieties of plants on this platform."

AeroFarms was founded in 2004, and its products are sold in 200 grocery stores across the Northeast including Whole Foods. It operates one vertical farm in New Jersey, with more on the way. AeroFarms is breaking ground on a facility in Abu Dhabi, pitched as the world’s largest vertical farm, as well as one in Danville, Virginia. Along with the publicly announced farms in Abu Dhabi and Danville, AeroFarms plans to build 16 more farms with the capital it’s raising, using a slightly different strategy than the company’s previous build locations. 

"It’s not where the mouths are, but where the produce distribution centers are," Rosenberg said. "So we can sell to a surrounding number of cities. We’ve gone from a lens of hyper local to a more looser definition of local." 

AeroFarms uses aeroponics, a soilless way of growing produce that uses mist to cut down on water usage by 95 percent; it plants seeds in cloth made from recycled plastic bottles. Using LED lights, the vertical farms draw on specific wavelengths to maximize efficiency of the plants’ photosynthesis. 

The vertical farming industry, already an important part of the food supply chain, is poised to explode. According to a 2020 report by the World Wildlife Fund, indoor farming is projected to have a combined annual growth rate of more than 24 percent between 2018 and 2024, hitting $3 billion in revenues worldwide in 2024. The challenges and opportunities faced by AeroFarms over the next few years will inform the vertical farming playbook for its followers. 

Energy is the next big hurdle

The SPAC merger is expected to bring AeroFarms $317 million in cash, on top of the $80 million the company already has, to scale and expand into new geographies. According to Rosenberg, the company focused most of the last 15 years on innovating its technology, seeds and plants. He is confident its technology can support a massive jump in demand and commercialization.

Energy stands out as one of the bigger hurdles facing the [vertical farming] industry.

But the process of scaling up vertical farming isn’t without controversy. A World Wildlife study that compared the life cycle assessment of lettuce grown traditionally in California and transported to St. Louis against indoor farming solutions based in St. Louis — including greenhouse hydroponically grown lettuce, greenhouse aquaponically grown lettuce, indoor vertically farmed lettuce, hydroponically grown lettuce and indoor vertically farmed, aquaponically grown lettuce — found that the energy required to run the lights, irrigation and automation for all the indoor solutions resulted in an overall higher climate impact than the traditional farming method.

"Energy stands out as one of the bigger hurdles facing the [vertical farming] industry," said Julia Kurnik, director of innovation startups at WWF and author of the study. "Because it already is making great gains around things like water use, pesticide use, food loss and food waste. So it’s doing wonderful things there."

According to Kurnik, hydroponics and aeroponic farming use less water and don’t degrade soil like traditional farming, but for vertical farming to become environmentally sustainable on a carbon emissions level, these systems need to source electricity from renewables such as solar, wind or hydro.

But simply hooking up a vertical farm to solar or wind power won't solve the problem. Manufacturing solar panels is also an environmental strain due to the materials mined and energy used to make the solar panels. Like Kurnik said, everything that produces energy has to be built. And on the business side, AeroFarms said it’s very difficult for the company to find locations that have access to 100 percent renewable energy.

According to Rosenberg, access to a greener grid is part of AeroFarms’ weighting process for picking new locations for farms, but it can’t be a dealbreaker. For example, Danville relies heavily on nuclear and natural gas for energy, which is one reason AeroFarms decided to build there. Rosenberg also hopes AeroFarms will start to focus on places and cities that have access to hydropower.

But both Kurnik and AeroFarms CTO Roger Buelow agreed that one of the main goals for both the industry and AeroFarms specifically should be reducing the energy intensity of vertical farm growing. 

"Let’s be more efficient," Buelow said. "Let’s make sure we are getting the most pounds per square meter per photon we can get. So that we’re really being good stewards with that energy. And we’re making sure that every photon gets to do its job."

One way AeroFarms does this, according to Buelow, is to put a lot of effort into making sure it uses the most efficient LED lights. But Rosenberg emphasizes that there is more to the environmental picture than just energy usage. He notes that aeroponic farming doesn’t use pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, which all have embodied energy in their production and produce degradation effects on the environment. 

"There’s the environmental picture. There’s the energy side. There’s the pollution side. There’s the soil degradation side. There’s the water usage side. The water contamination side. There’s the food waste side," he said. "It’s part of a much broader narrative in assessing what’s good or what’s not as smart for the environment."

Working on expanding crop offerings

According to the WWF study, energy represents about 25 percent of the operating costs for vertical farms, and those costs have limited what is profitable to grow in contained-environment agriculture. 

"I’ve seen pretty much anything, even fruit trees growing in these systems," Kurnik said. "But it isn’t cost-effective or energy-effective. You would spend so much energy growing them, it would bring a large environmental footprint, and it would become too expensive for the farms to sell that produce. So to see the entire industry scale and be able to grow a much greater variety of things and therefore capture all the benefits that these farms do bring, we need to figure out how to lower and/or green that energy footprint."

Berries are a high-value crop that could make the investment on the vertical farming side worthwhile for businesses such as AeroFarms.

AeroFarms is working on breaking out of the leafy green market and making some of those more energy-intensive crops profitable. The company has grown 550 varieties of plants in at least the research phase and is participating in a trial of growing a pharmaceutical ingredient for a drug. But the most likely success story will be the berries it hopes to cultivate working alongside Hortifrut. 

"[The partnership] is a great example of how we really think of ourselves as a platform," Rosenberg said. "And how we work on this platform to solve broader problems in agriculture."

Berries are a fickle fruit in the agriculture world. Berries are part of the Dirty Dozen, a list of 12 produce types created by nonprofit The Environmental Working Group that use a lot of pesticides. They are also a high-demand product that people want year-round but that only grow best in summer months, leading to massive transportation costs (both financially and environmentally) as the industry ships berries from farther away places to meet this demand. With that in mind, berries are a high-value crop that could make the investment on the vertical farming side worthwhile for businesses such as AeroFarms. 

"It’s local. It’s perishable. There’s a reliable demand. There’s a need for consistency. There’s a need for pesticide-free, herbicide-free," said AeroFarms CFO Guy Blanchard. "There’s many, many markets that look like they could very well make sense [for vertical farming]. We’re at the forefront of looking for those types of crops and markets and finding ways to deploy the technology to address those markets."

One example of that initiative: AeroFarms is also a founding member of Precision Indoor Plants (PIP), a joint venture between The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research and other participants including BASF, Benson Hill, FFAR, Fluence, GreenVenus and Priva. The consortium is working on genetically adapting seeds for optimized indoor growing, improving light recipes, advancing speed breeding technology and altering the chemical makeup of plants to improve flavor, nutrition and medical efficacy. 

"The broader world of vertical farming will have access to all those genetics, and we’ll all be able to grow stronger plants that really make the best use of the features of vertical farms," Buelow said. 

PIP and AeroFarms plan to share their findings and innovations with the broader vertical farming community so every business in the industry can operate as efficiently as possible.

"I do think there is a lack of knowledge sharing and best practices across the industry," Kurnik said. "Because it is a bunch of startups. It is very nascent. I think the entire industry could benefit from sharing and establishing metrics and a baseline to figure out how to improve."

Balancing automation alongside social goals

The sustainability of farming and food are huge social issues as much as they are environmental ones. According to Rosenberg, one reason AeroFarms chose to locate a farm in Danville was because of the social impact it could make there. The city is 51 percent African American and has a relatively higher poverty rate than its neighbors. 

By entering an economically depressed city, AeroFarms can address food deserts and help alleviate them by providing locally sourced food and creating jobs. The Danville operation will employ about 100 people from the community, according to Rosenberg. "We want to go into those communities and inspire those communities," he said. 

AeroFarms also supports a past offenders program that started in 2016 and provides employment for 15 formerly incarcerated people so far. 

Automation is coming, and it is one way AeroFarms will decrease costs. But that could undermine the jobs added by the company in the future. Right now, the company automates the seeding process, but the seedlings are placed in trays manually. The loading, unloading, harvesting and packaging is automated but pockets of manual work are needed as well. AeroFarms wants to use the best technology while still providing jobs, according to executives. 

Vertical farms are often a collision of education levels; highly educated engineers working alongside farm labor.

"Obviously, our next farms are going to be more automated, much more automated and that innovation is something we are proud of," said Diego Rivera, Aerofarms’ master grower. "But even with automation, nothing is going to replace the human eye. Some key positions are going to be still there."

So it’s going to be about retraining. According to Rivera, Aerofarms has programs in place that create conditions for people to stay at the company by promoting people from within. 

"Our approach is going to innovate and continue to work to bring our workforce along with us," Rosenberg added. "How do we train for those next skills? How do we get them to understand how to use those controls so they could apply their contribution in a higher level way? We’re constantly training them to be ready for the next challenges."

To provide employees with the opportunity for upward mobility, AeroFarms offers computer literacy programs and financial literacy workshops. According to Rosenberg, vertical farms are often a collision of education levels; highly educated engineers working alongside farm labor. 

"So how can we get the highly educated workforce to work with our frontline workers to teach them these skills and help form that sense of community," Rosenberg added.

It’s clear vertical farming sits right in the middle of many of the largest issues facing our economy and our planet. AeroFarms is trying to tackle a lot of them; everything from food insecurity to energy usage to job sustainability. Succeeding could create a path leading others towards a sustainable and equitable economy of the future for others to follow, while failing will offer a parable of trying to be all things to all people and biting off more than you can chew. 

SRUC To Build Vertical Farm

By Michael Barker

August 9, 2021

Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) will be the first higher education institute in Scotland to open a vertical farm for research and education.

The project, which has received a £200,000 grant from the Scottish Government, will be used in key research into plant and crop science, and will also be used by students. SRUC will build the half million-pound facility at its King’s Buildings campus in Edinburgh next year.

The facility will grow nutrient-dense fruit and vegetables that have specific human health qualities. It will also analyse crop yield and growth rates with all resource inputs to compare their carbon footprint to other production systems.

It will operate on renewable energy sources from the national grid, supported by battery technology to manage peaks in energy demand. The project will be going out to tender in the coming weeks.

With only a handful of commercial vertical farms in Scotland, the facility will be important for demonstration and knowledge exchange with farmers, growers and small businesses, giving vital support and promoting innovation, SRUC said.

Mairi Gougeon, cabinet secretary for rural affairs and islands, said: “As we look to produce more fruits and vegetables locally, vertical farming could provide us with a way to make better use of our land. It’s an exciting and innovative field that could bring us real benefits and it is important that we have the skills in Scotland to take advantage of this technology.

“By supporting the industry at an early stage, we can assess these benefits and help to focus our long-term strategy. We will also be reaching out to the wider industry to explore in further detail the opportunities low-carbon vertical farming offers. We will work together to establish the future of vertical farming in Scotland.”

Lead Photo: New facility will grow nutrient-dense fruit and vegetables that have specific human health qualities

80 Acres CEO Reflects on Vertical Farming Post $160m Raise: ‘There Will Be Losers With Very Big Names’

By Lauren Manning

August 11, 2021

The indoor farming sector is dazzling investors and attracting its fair share of nine-figure deals. But as the space grows more crowded and competitive, questions are sprouting up regarding market saturation, the right business models, and whether indoor mega-farms like the one Minnesota’s Revol Greens is planning are the way to go.

For Mike Zelkind, CEO at Ohio-based vertical ag operation 80 Acres Farms, not everyone will make it to the finish line.

“This is the way the market works. There will be winners and losers and there will be losers with very big names,” he tells AFN.

“But the world needs this and even the losers [will have been] very well-intentioned. My heart will go out to everyone who does not win because I know they fought the good fight.”

80 Acres just announced the close of a $160 million Series B round led by US growth equity firm General Atlantic.

Other investors in the round included Siemens Financial Services — the US financing arm of German tech giant Siemens — as well as Barclays, Blue Earth, Taurus Investment Holdings, and General Atlantic’s impact-focused BeyondNetZero team.

Although Zelkind views the indoor farming space as big enough for many players to do well, he thinks some recent valuations are exaggerated. 

In his opinion, 80 Acres sets itself apart through its partnerships, like its joint venture with e-grocer Ocado and tech provider Priva. The trio formed the venture, Infinite Acres, in 2019 to help growers enter the tech-enabled indoor farming space.

Staying close to the consumer

80 Acres takes a decentralized approach to getting its produce on consumers’ tables, building its farms close to areas where its customers are located. The startup runs eight farms, and sells its products in around 600 retail and foodservice locations. Without sharing specific figures, it claims to have posted 450% growth in revenue since the end of last year.

Building close to its customer base has also been a foundational aspect of 80 Acres’ business model, Zelkind suggests.

“I don’t think there are any other farming operations today that have built a farm as close to the distribution center of their customer,” he says. “Just getting a little closer to the customer is not good enough.” 

Zelkind claims that 80 Acres had a lot of options when it came to choosing investors for its Series B round but that funders with strategic angles were the winning choice. General Atlantic focuses on world-changing technologies, including foodtech, while Siemens can assist with continued industrialization of the startup’s capabilities, he adds.

80 Acres will use the new funding to expand its footprint while supporting product development. Based on his own observations of rival startups’ activities and claims, Zelkind argues that his company offers the widest variety of produce in the vertical farming industry, selling leafy greens, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and microgreens, among others.

“I’m not aware of anybody even making a claim that they are commercially growing these items, and we’ve had the product in the marketplace for the last four years,” he says. “It’s not a claim – it’s a fact.”

Lead Photo: Mike Zelkind, CEO, 80 Acres Farms. Photo credit: 80 Acres Farms Facebook page.

FI Report Preview: Vertical Farming Concept Experiencing Immense Growth

By Kelly Beaton

July 19, 2021

Vertical farming is growing by leaps and bounds. In fact, the evolving form of agriculture has become a multibillion-dollar industry and is expected to reach $12.77 by 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 25%, according to Allied Market Research.

Quite simply, the concept “has gone viral,” said Dr. Dickson Despommier, a professor at Columbia University.

And Despommier should know. After all, he’s credited with conceiving the concept, back in 1999, during an especially spirited Medical Ecology course.

The Food Institute recently interviewed Despommier at length, in advance of its in-depth report on vertical farming, which is set to be published Tuesday (you can eventually download the report here). Here’s some exclusive content from that interview, which discussed numerous aspects of indoor farming, also known as controlled-environment agriculture (or CEA):

HOW WOULD YOU PERSONALLY DEFINE INDOOR FARMING AND VERTICAL FARMING?

Despommier: “Indoor farming includes all indoor farms, including vertical farms, and it also includes greenhouses. The only difference between a vertical farm and a greenhouse is height, because you can’t just set greenhouses on top of each other.

“Vertical farms have grow lights. If you use grow lights … you get more nutritious plants as a result of that, because you can tweak those lights to cause the plants to produce more things that we need, like vitamins.”

IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT’S A KEY BENEFIT PROVIDED BY VERTICAL FARMING?

Despommier: “By manipulating the indoor lighting systems … you can create plants that you could never grow outside. That’s one of the advantages.”

WHICH COUNTRIES ARE EMBRACING VERTICAL FARMING THE MOST?

Despommier: “The country that’s really got the most [vertical farming facilities] is Japan – Japan now has hundreds of vertical farms throughout the country, and they’re doing quite well. Taiwan has about 150, last I heard. Singapore has countrywide demand for locally produced food. The United States has a fair number, I would say in the neighborhood of 100, to 150.

HOW DO YOU ENVISION VERTICAL FARMING GROWING IN THE NEXT 5-10 YEARS?

Despommier: “I think the next issue will be, how can we franchise ourselves into a complete grocery store. And I know companies that are already doing that, so that’s in the wings. And, I think in another 5 years you’re going to see a versatility of crop selection that will force everything else into competition, and therefore [vertical farming] will succeed. That’s in the next 5 to 10 years.”

Four Vertical Growers Collaborating To Deliver Social-Impact Projects in Wales

July 9, 2021

Four UK vertical farming companies, LettUs Grow, Digital Farming, Farm Urban, and GrowStack, are collaborating to bring the benefits of CEA to Welsh communities. This is one of the widest collaborations between leading CEA tech providers in the UK to date, with a focus on delivering vertical farms across different locations in Wales as part of a social impact and community-focused project called Crop Cycle.

Crop Cycle is looking to bring the benefits of vertical farming directly to communities that could benefit most and is being funded by the Welsh Government through the Foundational Economy Challenge Fund. The project is being led by Social Farms and Gardens, supported by Welsh Government's NutriWales CEA Special Interest Group and BIC Innovation.

The project enables multiple different CEA systems to be tailored to fit different community settings, whilst also allowing them to be assessed in coordination across the pilot sites. This approach is unique, facilitating the testing of new socially focused business models, the engagement of the local communities and businesses with CEA and the development of new technical solutions. LettUs Grow, Digital Farming, GrowStack and Farm Urban are working together to share their specialisms and apply different technologies to where they are best suited within four sites in Wales, two of which are in the Valleys.

This project will introduce year-round food growing right into the heart of Welsh communities, where they’ll be connected to the particular dynamics of the local area. Activities will test new community-based engagement models, focusing on social well-being, local entrepreneurship and environmental impact. In this way, the project will be bringing together community, businesses and local public sector organizations.

Gary Mitchell, the Wales Manager for Social Farms and Gardens who is leading the project team stated, "we are excited to be running the pilot project across a diverse set of sites to gain insight and further knowledge into how new agricultural systems can successfully support communities in delivering local, fresh and nutritious foods as well as important social benefits in a sustainable manner."

Read the complete article at: Vertical Farm Daily

For more information:
LettUs Grow
info@lettusgrow.com
lettusgrow.com

GrowStack
www.growstack.co.uk

Digital Farming
www.digitalfarming.io

Farm Urban
www.farmurban.co.uk

European And Asian Expansion For Equilibrium

July 9, 2021

Equilibrium, the company that this week closed the industry’s largest Controlled Environment Agriculture Fund at $1.022 billion, has established an office in Singapore and has Dutch master grower Godfried Dol and former Rabobank Asia & career agricultural investor John Baker manning it. Currently, the company is trying to develop the first high-tech glass greenhouse in Singapore. And there’s more. In the next year, Equilibrium is expecting to get several European greenhouse companies onboard.

“As the industry grows, capital and expertise are what’s needed. We’re in a great position to aggregate and consolidate as this industry matures,” Dave says. “In many countries in South East Asia, it is about food safety. In Singapore for example it is about food security: a small island nation that has little agricultural space. Yet, if it is safety, security, consistency, quality or the ability to manage climate volatility that is in demand and regardless of the order, they all contribute to the same demand for CEA facilities.”

David explains that he believes there to be plenty of opportunities in Asia – something that hasn’t developed at all since the industry grew out of Holland, and the current greenhouse crops mainly reflect the European diet. “Or as one policymaker said ‘We do not eat a lot of kale here.’ But they do eat a lot of vegetables. Bitter ones, different ones. There’s plenty of room to grow and innovate and that’s exciting.”

European market
And there’s more. Also in markets where the CEA industry has matured, Equilibrium sees opportunities. Earlier Dave shared his belief that access to capital is a competitive advantage and with this in mind, the company is also for operators in Europe. “We’re setting the tone for the Dutch industry,” Dave confirms. “When AppHarvest went public, we jokingly said that we listed a farm. When that happens, the family business balance sheet being the support for growth is likely no longer to be adequate. By now several companies have announced their listing, often through De-SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company), and have seen also a significant rise of private capital. This will happen in Northern Europe in 2021 and 2022.”

Dutch greenhouse suppliers
Over the last couple of years, private equity found its way towards the Dutch greenhouse suppliers, yet with some exceptions in place, still, growers mainly relied on Rabobank as their capital plan. “It’s also evidence of the fact that many of the growers in the Netherlands are coops, and coops are tough strategic vehicles,” David says. “Then again, before the expansion was measured in 5 hectares or 10 hectares. What we see now in the North American projects are routinely 25 hectares or 50 hectares expansions. We polled the Dutch venture industry and asked them if they were able to meet the capital industry in the growth of construction in North America. Only a year ago all of them said, without hesitation, that it wasn’t a problem. If you would poll them today, they would look at each other and say there’s no manpower.”

Equilibrium has, David, adds, and confirms that the company is on the lookout to work with Dutch growers. “We’ve been working on long-term relationships with Dutch suppliers for a longer period by now – but we’re their clients. That’s not the case for the operators. Over the course of the next year, you’ll see us increasing our exposure working with European operators and operators in the Netherlands that have a desire to expand their footprint.”

He is assured that the company’s reputation as a collaborative, dedicated, and a domain-o-where investment firm will help them gain ground in the European industry. “Vendors know that when we commit to a project, it is fully capitalized and that they can play with security and certainty. We always came with capital, we weren’t developers that were raising capital for each project – we’ve committed capital to each project. People want to work with us because they know that. Then there is our team with Nick (Houshower), Gave, and also with Marco and Godfried. They are either experts in the industry or in construction or in the case of our team, have taken the humility to learn and learn again. Vendors know that we’re not the company to make crazy requests. We may push hard, but nothing crazy.”

So why does the company want to invest in the Dutch industry? David explains he continues to see opportunities there, despite the coops. “The Netherlands, and to some degree Israel, have built these industries out of necessity. Innovation took place to solve very practical problems, and got to grow these industries. Where it was a curiosity for the rest of the world, it was practical for the Netherlands. Under the radar, the Dutch grew expertise and dominance and while everybody looked at in the broad daylight, there wasn’t much invested in it. 2020 / 2021 made the ‘Americanisation’ of the Dutch industry visible. And now that Silicon Valley technology and the capital industry has started to look at the industry like mainstream agriculture, funny things happen.” He explains how larger operators like AppHarvest have a Chief Technology Officer for example. “Continuous absorption of technology platforms for productivity is a way of life. If you do not have the dollars to afford a technology operation, you are at a competitive disadvantage.”

Will it result in further upscaling and eating or being eaten in the Dutch greenhouse industry? David adds a third option. “Increasingly we’re seeing small farms not being the eater and being too small to be eaten. Stranded assets,” he says. “Not just in the Netherlands. Some of the small ones will have to decide: will they focus on a niche, or will proximity be their unique point – something that enables them to thrive in that scale and differentiate. Otherwise, a number of small-scale facilities are to question their future.”

An Action Plan To Ensure Food Security In Kashmir

By Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat

July 9, 2021

The majority of the farmers in Jammu and Kashmir are officially recognized as marginal farmers because of very small land holdings. The agricultural landholdings in J&K was estimated at 0.55 hectares during the agriculture census 2015-16, but unofficially this is much smaller (around 0.45 hectares ). In Kashmir valley, the size is even smaller. During the 2010-2011 agriculture census, the average size of operational land holdings in India was 1.15 hectares. This figure was lower, at 0.62 hectares in Jammu and Kashmir. Districts in Kashmir valley had even lower landholding sizes than the state as a whole. Kulgam 0.39 hectares Anantnag 0.39 , Shopian 0.56, Pulwama 0.48, Srinagar 0.31, Budgam 0.43, Baramulla 0.51, Ganderbal 0.37, Kupwara 0.51, Bandipora 0.48. These figures again came down during the 2015-16 census. I have written in detail about it in past.

In Kashmir valley, where most farmers own less than an acre of land, any Government policy related to land acquisition, especially for “development projects”, needs to take into account the fragile mountainous environment and climatic conditions as well. At a time when the agricultural land is shrinking day by day and population on rise, what is the future of agriculture in Jammu & Kashmir especially the Kashmir valley?

World population by 2040

The world's overall population is expected to increase by another 2 billion by 2040. Feeding such a large population will be the most challenging task ? Scientific studies show earth has lost one- fourth of its arable lands over the last

50 years only? India has a huge population. Urbanization and industrialization is shrinking its agricultural land. The Vertical farming is the solution to these challenges. This type of farming is an innovative way of maintaining our agricultural practices. In India, vertical farming is mostly polyhouse-based farming. Poly-house farming is a protected way that gives higher productivity and yield of vegetables and fruits across India. Increasing food demand due to a growing population along with ever decreasing arable lands poses one of the greatest challenges for us. Many believe that vertical farming can be the answer to this challenge. It is believed that vertical farming is the future of agriculture. For a place like Kashmir it is indeed the solution to ensure food security in future

What Is Vertical Farming ?

Vertical farming is the practice of producing food on vertically inclined surfaces. Instead of farming vegetables and other foods on a single level, such as in a field or a greenhouse, this method produces foods in vertically stacked layers commonly integrated into other structures like a skyscraper, shipping container or repurposed warehouse. Using Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology. This modern idea uses indoor farming techniques. The artificial control of temperature, light, humidity, and gases makes producing foods and medicine indoor possible. In many ways, vertical farming is similar to greenhouses where metal reflectors and artificial lighting augment natural sunlight. The primary goal of vertical farming is maximizing crops output in a limited space.

Firstly, the primary goal of vertical farming is producing more foods per square meter. To accomplish this goal, crops are cultivated in stacked layers in a tower life structure. Secondly, a perfect combination of natural and artificial lights is used to maintain the perfect light level in the room. Technologies such as rotating beds are used to improve lighting efficiency. Thirdly, instead of soil, aeroponic, aquaponic or hydroponic growing mediums are used. Peat moss or coconut husks and similar non-soil mediums are very common in vertical farming. Finally, the vertical farming method uses various sustainability features to offset the energy cost of farming. In fact, vertical farming uses 95% less water.

Vertical farming in J&K

As discussed above the agricultural land holding in Jammu & Kashmir is very less. The government is in the process of acquiring more and more agricultural land for highways and transmission lines. More than than 800 acres of highly fertile agriculture land is being acquired for the Srinagar Ring Semi Road project. Budgam alone is loosing more than 600 acres of vegetable, paddy and orchard land (4800 kanals). Right to Fair compensation act which is applicable in J&K post article 370 abrogation is not applied as the 2017 notification has become null and void due to efflux of time. Dozens of villages in Pulwama, Budgam, Srinagar and Ganderbal are affected by the land acquisition process for this project. We already lost a lot of agricultural land during construction of Qazigund – Baramulla railway line. Due to urbanization a lot of paddy fields were converted into housing colonies around Srinagar, Budgam and Ganderbal districts. Shopping malls, hospitals, schools have come up on agricultural land. Have we ever thought about our future generation ? Will people in Kashmir valley be able to grow vegetables or paddy in 2050 ? No not at all. What is the solution? Why are our agri –scientists and researchers not coming forward and guiding people on vertical farming?

Advantages of Vertical farming

Vertical farming has a lot of advantages. However, there are some challenges as well. The advantages are listed below :

• Preparation for the Future:
  In the next 30 to 35 years around 70 % of the world population is expected to live in urban areas, and the population growth will demand more food. The efficient use of vertical farming may perhaps play a significant role in facing such challenges.

• Year-Round Crop Production:

The vertical farming ensures to produce more crops from the same square footage of growing area. In fact, 1 acre (8 kanals) of an indoor area offers equivalent production to at least 4-6 acres of outdoor capacity. According to an estimate, a 30-story building with a base area of 5 acres can potentially produce an equivalent of 2,400 acres of conventional horizontal farming. Additionally, year-round crop production is possible in a controlled indoor environment which is completely controlled by vertical farming technologies. This is indeed a very useful technique for a place like Kashmir in view of shrinking farm lands and harsh winter months. Vertical farming allows us to produce crops with 70% to 95% less water than required for normal cultivation.

• Production of Organic Crops:

As crops are produced in a well-controlled indoor environment without the use of chemical pesticides, vertical farming allows us to grow pesticide-free and organic crops. Indoor vertical farming can significantly lessen the occupational hazards associated with traditional farming. Farmers are not exposed to hazards related to heavy farming equipment, diseases like malaria, poisonous chemicals and so on. As it does not disturb animals and trees inland areas, it is good for biodiversity as well

Challenges

• Difficulties with Pollination

Vertical farming takes place in a controlled environment without the presence of insects. As such, the pollination process needs to be done manually, which will be labor intensive and costly.

• Labor Costs

As high as energy costs are in vertical farming, labour costs can be even higher due to their concentration in urban centers where wages are higher, as well as the need for more skilled labor. Automation in vertical farms, however, may lead to the need for fewer workers. Manual pollination may become one of the more labor-intensive functions in vertical farms.

Conclusion

The constant shrinking of agriculture land is a big challenge at global level as discussed above. For a place like Kashmir valley the shrinking of agricultural land due to urbanization and population growth will lead to food crises in future. Vertical farming is the only hope now and our agriculture scientists, universities and research institutions need to shift their focus on vertical farming....

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts, analysis, assumptions and perspective appearing in the article do not reflect the views of GK.

Lead Photo: Why are our agri-scientists not coming forward, and guiding people on vertical farming?

Farm Tech Society, Indoor Ag-Con Partner to Present "Future of Farming | Educating The Next Generation to Make CEA Scalable" | August 19, 2020 - 2 PM EST

New Session Joins Indoor Ag-Conversations Webinar Series,
August 19, 2020, From 2:00 - 3:00 pm EST

(AUGUST 10, 2020) -- As the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry grows, companies are facing greater shortages in qualified talent. How can innovation in training and education accelerate the industry to the benefit of all? Hosted by the Farm Tech Society and Indoor Ag-Con, LLC,  "The Future of Farming: Educating the Next Generation To Make CEA Scalable," will bring together a panel of top educators to explore viable answers to this pressing challenge.

The latest topic to join the Indoor Ag-Conversations free webinar series, the program will be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2020, from 2:00 - 3:00 pm EST.

Moderated by Farm Tech Society Chairman Ian Kanski, Director, Center for Advanced Agriculture & Sustainability, Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, the panel will include Dr. Laura Vickers, Senior Lecturer in Plant Biology, Harpers Adams University; Sonny Ramaswamy, president, Northwest Commission on Colleges & Universities; and Dr. Marito Garcia, Fellow, Darden School of Business, Center for Global Initiatives (DCGI), University of Virginia.

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"We're excited to partner with the Farm Tech Society to foster discussion around this vitally important topic," says Brian Sullivan, co-owner, Indoor Ag-Con, LLC. "The COVID crisis has certainly brought attention and increased awareness to the myriad benefits CEA can offer -- from local food/supply chain solutions to year-round production. Attracting and educating a younger generation are critical to helping CEA reach its full potential."

"Strengthening and securing the future of the CEA industry are key to the Farm Tech Society mission. The new Indoor Ag-Conversations webinar series offers a wonderful platform to exchange ideas and spark new ones. We're looking forward to a great discussion," adds Farm Tech Society Board Chairman and program moderator Ian Kanski. "

During the 60-minute program, the panel will discuss a range of topics, including:

• Upskilling and retraining from challenged industry sectors

• Skills gaps, labor challenges, and automation

• Micro-credentialing and industry certifications

• Portability of skills learned in CEA operations

• Public-private partnerships for training and education

The program is free and attendees can register at www.indoor.ag/webinar

The Indoor Ag-Conversations panelists will bring a wealth of educational industry experiences and insights to the discussion.

 Ian Kanski  is a social entrepreneur with a career dedicated to human development and sustainable technology. He is the Director of the Center for Advanced Agriculture and Sustainability at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Board Chair for FarmTech Society in Brussels, Belgium and co-founder of INTAG. Ian is also Co-Founder of the STEM Education consultancy B Theory Inc and is the former Chief Product Officer of Zoetic Global.

Dr. Laura Vickers gained her Ph.D. in 2012 from the University of Birmingham before working as a postdoc at Harper Adams University (HAU). She took up her role as Lecturer at HAU in 2014 and was also awarded a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellowship in Horticulture, where she worked with the Horticulture Innovation Partnership in producing an R&D strategy for the Ornamental industry. She is now a Senior Lecturer at HAU and a leading member of the Urban Farming Group.

Sonny Ramaswamy assumed the presidency of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities in 2018 after six years of service as President Obama's appointee as the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) in Washington, DC. Prior to this position in the federal government, he worked for 30 years at several Land-Grant Universities, rising through the ranks from assistant professor to dean.

Dr. Marito Garcia is a Fellow at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. He is a Board Director at Learning Equality, a non-profit education technology company based in San Diego, CA. He is co-founder of Italpinas Development Corporation, a green-building development company in Asia, based in Manila, Philippines; and Orenko Ltd (Cambridge, UK), an energy development company. He also served as senior staff at the World Bank, Washington, DC in various capacities.

Indoor Ag-Con LLC created the new Indoor Ag-Conversations series to share content originally planned for its May 2020 in-person annual conference that was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.   To learn more about this session, as well as other upcoming programs on the schedule, visit www.indoor.ag/webinar

ABOUT INDOOR AG-CON LLC
Founded in 2013, Indoor Ag-Con, LLC produces the premier event for the indoor | vertical farming industry touching all sectors of the business —  produce, legal cannabis, hemp, alternate protein and non-food crops. In December 2018, three event industry professionals – Nancy Hallberg, Kris Sieradzki and Brian Sullivan – purchased Indoor Ag-Con LLC, setting the stage for further expansion of the events globally. For more information, visit: https://indoor.ag

ABOUT FARM TECH SOCIETY
The Farm Tech Society (FTS) is an international non-profit industry association that unites and supports the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) industry, seeking to strengthen the sector through the development and implementation of resilient and future proof methods and technologies for indoor growing For more information, visit https://www.farmtechsociety.org

Indoor Ag-Con, 950 Scales Road, Building #200, Suwanee, GA 30024, United States