21 Mar 2024
Vertical farming: global food security solution or expensive way to grow leafy greens?
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Some producers have gone bust, but technological advances could see the approach applied to a wider variety of crops
As the world’s population grows – the UN forecasts that it will exceed 10 billion by 2100 – new ways to increase food production are being sought.
This is illustrated by the rise of vertical farming, which involves crops being grown in layers in an indoor environment.
Eye-catching examples have hit the news in recent years, such as Pasona Urban Farm in a multi-storey office block in Japan.
Meanwhile, researchers have suggested that some of the world’s thousands of abandoned mines could be repurposed as farms.
But is this brave new world of agriculture really part of the answer to global food security issues – or is it suitable only for producing salad vegetables, strawberries and a small number of other crops?
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