When you hear the word "farming," it's likely that imagery of nature and the great outdoors will come to mind. However, in the past few years, tech-savvy startups have challenged that notion completely with the development of vertical farming--a technique that gives traditional and nontraditional farmers the ability to harvest thousands of crops inside their own homes. By using controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology and stacking rows of plants on top of one another, the farmer has the ability to artificially control variables of production and ensure a degree of systematic success.
The advantages of this new industry are lengthy. Importantly, this kind of controlled-process diminishes the fear of natural disasters, which have infamously devastated harvests throughout history. Additionally, because crop production is not limited to mass land-ownership, greater yields can help sustain demand in urban areas. This comes with the conservation of natural resources, the ability to expand cities with food security, and lower likelihoods of starvation. Fresh produce, when made accessible to inner-cities families and cultivated locally (without putting workers at risk of harmful diseases and poor working conditions), can ultimately foster a healthier population.
Like any new industry, vertical farming has been met with fair critiques to slow down its development. The biggest questions come down to economics: will vertical farming be a profitable and efficient way of sustaining ourselves, or is it just a temporary fad? There is still much research to be done on the costs of these start-ups and the ultimate value of the production. According to The Economist, in major cities the price of space to host vertical farms can range from $880 to $1850 per square meter. Environmentally, there is also concern about the emission of greenhouses gases from this process, which may significantly contribute to pollution depending on the amount of energy used. With time, the tradeoffs will be more easily assessed, and adjustments--such as integrating lower costs LED lights--can be made to combat some of these problems.
As our world is rapidly developing, it is estimated that our global population will grow by 3 billion, and 80% of people will live in urban areas by the year 2050. Successful companies such as Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFM) have already begun investing in vertical farm start-ups like FarmedHere, LLC. In the upcoming months, American company AeroFarms is expected to to open up the world's largest vertical farm of 6,500-square-metre in the city of Newark, New Jersey. According to MarketsandMarkets, this market has the potential to reach "USD 3.88 Billion by 2020, at a CAGR of 30.7% between 2015 and 2020." Though the debate on efficiency will continue in this nontraditional industry, it is more than likely that we will see an increase in vertical farming soon on an international level: using technology to truly bring produce to the people.