VERTICAL FARMING: HOW IT WORKS

Vertical farming is the practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers commonly integrated into structures like skyscrapers, shipping containers or recycled warehouses. The controlled environment agriculture makes use of vertical space to increase yields as traditional horizontal farming rapidly faces constraints like land scarcity, climate volatility and urbanization.

Unlike traditional agriculture which relies heavily on soil, vertical farming often utilizes alternative mediums like hydrogen-infused aeroponics which mists plant roots suspended in air, hydroponics with roots soaking in nutrient solutions, or aquaponics which pairs hydroponics with aquaculture to fertilize plants. Sophisticated technologies enable urban farmers to precisely control light, humidity, temperature, gases, nutrition and pests year-round.

LED lighting mimics optimal intensities and frequencies that chlorophyll uses most efficiently to encourage photosynthesis. Artificial intelligence systems inform lighting schedules and chemical balances tailored to given crops. Pollinating robots manage plant breeding and cross-pollination. Automated conveyor systems shuffle and replant crops continually for steady harvests.

The immediate environmental benefits over traditional techniques include reductions in water usage up to 95% and slashes in food waste since weather and spoiling pose fewer problems. Abandoned buildings transform into ripe centers for innovation and job creation. Any unused vertical real estate theoretically provides opportunity for six to twenty times greater production than the same crop footprint on flat farmland.

Early successful operations in Japan, Singapore and the United States help make vertical farming more commercially viable globally. Plenty, AeroFarms and Bowery Farming secured hundreds of millions in financing from leading VCs to expand their stackable solutions. Governments also incentivize conversions recognizing vertical agriculture’s alignment with sustainability goals.

While small vertical set-ups suit restaurants and local grocers well, adding metric scale for true food security remains challenging. Enterprise construction and retrofitting still require hefty capital costs. Critics argue effort should focus instead on transitioning existing farmland to regenerative practices first before disrupting agriculture’s conventional landscape.

Regardless, vertical farming’s upward trajectory seems poised to grow. Feeding tomorrow’s urban billions makes otherwise empty towers bearing fruit 12 months a year an increasingly irresistible vision.