Vertical farming technology has the potential to provide advanced support to farmers who want to make an impact in food sustainability.
As global populations grow, food security is becoming more urgent. Traditional agriculture, which is susceptible to weather patterns and reliant on arable land, is struggling to meet existing crop production before even considering this increasing demand.
The UK is also set for further harvest challenges, as highlighted by recent by recent Defra analysis, which shows that the wettest winter on record since 1836 will likely reduce crop yield, with the bad weather from 2023 causing a reduction in fruit and veg production.
Vertical farming aims to overcome such unpredictable weather concerns by cultivating crops indoors, in vertically stacked layers. A controlled environment enables food production close to the final consumer, even in cities where land is scarce. It aims to support traditional farming to meet year-round consumer needs and share the load, producing salad leaves, herbs and high-value crops while traditional agriculture tackles bulkier crops. The idea of vertical farming is not new, but recent developments in next-generation automation and robotics are making it more viable by breaking down barriers that have hindered development so that the sector can realize its full potential in a sustainable way.
Read more at The Independent