Vertical Farming: A Step Towards the Green Cities of the Future

The agriculture industry is facing a wide range of challenges, trying to keep up with ever-changing markets and, of course, climate change. To make things even more challenging, it is estimated that nearly 80% of the world population will be living in urban areas by 2050. Due to this urbanisation as well as industrial development, the number of arable lands — land used for the cultivation of crops — is decreasing day by day.

As discussed in our smart farming guide, the world population is expected to grow from 7.8B in 2021 to 9.7B by 2050 — meaning that by this time, agricultural production will need to have increased by 70%. If traditional farming practices continue as they are carried out today, an estimated 1B hectares of new land will be needed to reach this goal — that is about 20% more than the land represented by Brazil.

9.7B → The world population by 2050.
70% → The increase in agricultural production needed to meet the food demand in 2050.
1B hectares → The increase in new agricultural land needed to meet the food demand in 2050 when using traditional farming practices.

At this moment, more than 80% of the world’s land that is suitable for growing crops is already in use, and in 2015, scientists reported that a third of the world’s arable lands had been lost since 1975. It goes without saying that there is a need for an alternative solution. Could this solution be vertical farming? Let’s have a look!

What Is Vertical Farming?

As the name suggests, vertical farming refers to the practice of producing food on vertical, multi-level surfaces in a closed and controlled environment. In vertical farming, vegetables and other foods are produced in vertically stacked layers that are commonly integrated into structures such as skyscrapers, repurposed warehouses, or shipping containers.

How Does It Work?

Vertical farming can be practiced with the use of various technologies. Depending on the type of technologies that are used, the practices may differ. However, generally, there are four essential aspects of vertical farming:

1. The physical layout of the farm

With its primary goal to produce more food per square metre, vertical farming cultivates crops in stacked layers in a tall, tower-like structure. According to Pr. Dickson Despommier, the mastermind behind the vertical farm, one acre of indoor farm is equivalent to 10 acres of outdoor farming.

Despommier explains that by growing things in closed spaces within these tall structures, we compress and maximise efficiency. He adds to this that “today, we use the size of South America to grow food for 7.2B. We can accomplish the same thing with one-tenth the use of land if we were to farm inside the city.”

2. Optimised lighting efficiency

With the help of both natural and artificial lights, vertical farms are able to maintain the perfect level of light in the crop’s environment year-round. Thanks to Philips’s 68%-efficient LED lights, vertical farms can use four times as much light from the same amount of electricity.

Thanks to LED technology, vertical farmers can change the season with a single touch. A vertical farmer in Rotterdam explains that they can produce 20 to 25% more by using LED lighting compared to a traditional lighting system. They even experiment with different light colours to see which combination is most effective.

In addition, the farms use specific technologies such as rotating beds to ensure that each crop receives the desired amount of light from all angles. This way — and in combination with LED technologies — vertical farms can achieve optimal lighting efficiency.

3. Alternative growing medium

One of the most important aspects of vertical farming is the use of aeroponic, aquaponic, or hydroponic growing mediums instead of the traditional soil. Hydroponics really is the miracle recipe for the vertical farms of tomorrow as it no longer requires soil to grow crops. The image below shows an example of hydroponic cultivation.

Using only about 10% of the water that traditional agriculture uses, hydroponics allows vertical farmers to conserve a huge amount of water. This is especially beneficial considering the fact that water is set to become one of the most sought-after resources of the next century.

Contrary to traditional farming practices, a rooftop greenhouse, for example, does not need to constantly irrigate or depend on rain. With the help of hydroponics, they can use very little water, feed each plant individually according to its size or growth phase, and provide them with the exact nutrients they need — without any harmful extras such as heavy metals, pesticides, or herbicides.

“Did you know that hydroponic cultivation — the growing of plants without soil — has been around for a really, really long time? It is even said to have been used in the agricultural techniques of the Babylonians and Aztecs — including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. However, on a more recent note, NASA actually studied the idea very closely during the 1980s by using hydroponics to grow crops in space.”

— Editor's Note

4. Sustainability features

As indicated before, vertical farming includes various sustainability features — think of land and water conservation as well as more sustainable and local production. Instead of transporting foods from one side of the world to another, a vertical farm allows for local production, even in the middle of the city.

In fact, there is an increased demand for fresh produce these days — partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As described by Rob Dongoski, agribusiness leader at Ernst & Young: “between the efficiency in indoor farms and consumers having a desire for fresh food, you have a perfect storm”.

Putting all four aspects together, you will have a solid foundation for a successful vertical farm.

The Pros and Cons of Vertical Farming

As is the case with any type of new technology, there always are advantages and disadvantages — especially when it comes to a project as big as vertical farming. Whereas many of us only thought of such farms as existing in the far future, technological advances may allow these farms to pop up sooner than we initially thought possible. Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of vertical farms at this moment.

The Benefits of Vertical Farming

Even though you probably already have gotten an idea of the benefits of vertical farming by the text above, let’s have a look at some of the main benefits of vertical farming:

Not only does the ability of vertical farms to operate locally provide consumers with fresher vegetables, but the indoor environment of vertical farms also allows crops to be produced year-round without any unnecessary chemicals, such as pesticides. Instead, vertical farms can grow crops organically and pesticide-free.
Vertical farming uses up to 90% less water than required for traditional cultivation. At the same time, less land is required to grow the same amount of food: it is estimated that a 30-story building with a basal area of 5 acres would be able to produce just as much as a traditional, horizontal farm of 2.4K acres.
Indoor vertical farms do not depend on the weather or seasons. With global warming on everyone’s radar, this provides greater certainty in terms of annual harvest output as these farms are not affected by extreme weather conditions such as cyclones, droughts, and floods.

Other benefits include more sustainable cultivation, fewer occupational hazards caused by using heavy farming equipment and poisonous chemicals, as well as the ability of vertical farms to cultivate crops without disturbing animals and the environment — thereby contributing to improved biodiversity.

“If you are interested to learn more about farm automation and how it is shaping the future of agriculture, check out our complete guide on smart farming.”

— Editor's Note

The Challenges of Vertical Farming

It is important to note that vertical farming is still in its infancy and, therefore, faces a number of challenges and limitations. An example is the potential labour costs associated with running a vertical farm in urban centres where wages are generally higher. However, automation solutions could help overcome this challenge easily, especially as technology advances.

Put together, this leads to two major challenges:

This, too, affects the labour intensity and costs. In fact, according to Agrilyst, labour is by far the biggest cost for indoor farms, constituting between 50 and 80% of the farm’s expenses. Luckily, more and more startups are popping up in the agricultural sector that aim to address this issue through various automation technologies.
On that note, vertical farming is highly dependent on technologies for optimal efficiency and lower costs — whether it is for lighting purposes, maintaining temperature or humidity levels. At the same time, the indoor environment is controlled without the presence of insects, which calls for manual pollination processes.

It will be interesting to see how advances in technology will reduce the burden of these challenges while opening up new automation solutions across the agriculture industry.

Vertical Farming in Denmark: Nordic Harvest

Nordic Harvest, located just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark, is one of the largest vertical farms in the world. Their vertical farm produces crops — such as salads and herbs — on 14 shelves stacked up toward the ceiling. The farm covers an area of more than 75K square feet and runs completely on wind power. This reduces the carbon footprint of the facility substantially.

At the same time, thanks to its close proximity to the city of Copenhagen, the farm is able to reach grocery stores and consumers more quickly. Not only does this help reduce food waste, but it also allows consumers to reap the benefits of fresh produce — which, if you remember from the beginning of this article, is an important consumer trend.

“Denmark is well-known for its wind power and sustainability initiatives. Vertical farming is without a doubt a great match for Danish wind energy as well as the country’s aim to make both agriculture and the entire food sector more sustainable.

To quote Nordic Harvest’s CEO and founder, Anders Riemann: “Vertical farming helps Denmark to reduce CO2 emissions per unit of agricultural crop produced, and thus we at Nordic Harvest help agriculture with the green transition that is highly needed when Denmark has to deliver a 70% reduction in greenhouse gases in 2030.””

— Editor's Note

Nordic Harvest’s Production Processes

Riemann stresses the importance of vertical farming and how it can create a more sustainable food system with local production, higher quality, and better tasting produce compared to conventionally grown foods. Let’s have a look at how Nordic Harvest’s production processes aim to achieve this.

Hydroponic Cultivation

Nordic Harvest, too, has implemented the art of hydroponic cultivation. During this process, the seeds of the crops are sown into a small jelly patch – which more or less looks like a little jellyfish. Once the plant has sprouted, this “jellyfish” dissolves. By growing the crops in this nutrient-filled water, the vertical farm is able to produce sustainable foods, free of pesticides and other chemicals.

Homemade Bio-Fertiliser

To optimise their resources while also contributing to a more sustainable production, Nordic Harvest lets nothing go to waste. After each harvest, the roots are used to make fertiliser. This bio-fertiliser is made by fermenting the roots and adding natural minerals only. Not only does this work better than artificial fertiliser, but it also requires fewer resources.

Ideal Light & Wind Conditions

Unsurprisingly, Nordic Harvest uses LED lights for the growth of plants and for photosynthesis to take place. These lights are among the most advanced in the world and use only half the amount of electricity that common LED lights use. They also act as a heating system for the plants, which means there is no need for additional heating. All of this is driven by certified wind power.

Recirculation

Since Nordic Harvest has 100% control over the pants’ consumption, nothing goes to waste — everything is recycled. Once the water has provided the plants with its nutrients, it is cleaned and sent back to the plant. At the same time, the air is added to prevent mucus from forming around the roots. This means that nothing is emitted to nature and 95% less water is consumed compared to traditional agriculture.

In addition to the above, Nordic Harvest’s vertical farm is completely automated, with robots used for moving the shelves into position and stacking the produce. This shows that vertical farms can be designed with a robotics-first approach. These robots can, for example, assist in a wide range of production processes to increase efficiency levels — think of harvesting, seeding, and inspecting the plants.

Final Thoughts

Evidently, there lies a lot of potential in vertical farming — especially since there are a number of undeniable challenges that need to be addressed in today’s agriculture industry. However, as we have discussed before, vertical farming is a concept that is still in its infancy, which can create quite a barrier for the adoption of the practice at this moment.

As per usual, the future of vertical farms depends on technological advancements and automation progression. The benefits of this technology are evident, however, significant developments are needed to make the global deployment of this new farming system a reality. On that note, we believe that as for now — with the technologies available at this very moment — smart farming may be a better place to start building a more sustainable agriculture industry.

If you would like to know more about how we, at Meili Robots, may be able to assist you with automating your farming processes, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time.

About Meili Robots

Meili Robots is developing the next-generation of mobile robots fleet management, called Meili FMS. A universal digital solution, an all-in-one platform that is capable of handling different kinds of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). Enable traffic control, empower interoperability and facilitate automated task allocation — all via intuitive UI. Check our website meilirobots.com/product to learn about our products. Contact us to find out more: info@meilirobots.com.