“We don’t need acres and acres of the field at certain times of the year”

Jason Hawkins Row, who is the CEO of Aponic International, has been vertical farming in Suffolk since 2013. He said: “Normally, we will create a controlled or semi-controlled environment. So it extends our growing period. So we may well be able to have four, five, or six harvests a year where sometimes you’d only get one yield.”

“So simply by stacking these containers on top of each other, they can create an environment where you can grow year-round crop production at an indoor facility, controlling it through climate control systems and artificial lighting.”

Aponic International claims that this model can save 95% of the water used in traditional farming, and crops can grow at a 30% faster rate.

Mr Hawkins-Row also said his farm is more profitable since he started vertical farming he said: “The outlay in the capital is much lower, which, again, is very different from farming. We’ve got a business model where you’ll repay the capital in three to five years, whereas farming capital is usually repaid in terms of generations.