The interest and investments in vertical and indoor farms has been growing steadily for several years.
This is due to the advantages of indoor farming. By taking plants out of their outdoor environments and moving them inside to a controlled environment you can eliminate the problems associated with drought, pests, weeds and extreme weather.
You can also locate farms closer to urban areas, which means fresher produce for consumers and lower transportation costs.
But COVID-19 has added another advantage.
Urban farms provide greater levels of food security because they don't rely on far away crop production and related supply chains.
MIT Technology Review's Inside Singapore's Huge Bet on Vertical Farming covers the island nation's decision to invest heavily in indoor vertical farming. A key reason is control over food production and its supply chain.
One of the leaders in vertical farming is Berlin-based Infarm. They recently raised $170 million in funding and signed a major agreement to supply produce in Japan.
Another vertical farming firm, Plenty, recently showed a 2 acre vertical farm could grow as much produce as a 720 acre flat farm, and match the costs of a flat farm.
The main reason they can be cost competitive with traditional farms is vertical farms use much less water and pesticides, have higher crop yields thanks to the controlled environment and have reduced supply chain costs. Vertical and indoor farming is also more environmentally sound.
And with COVID-19 showing that food supply chains can be unexpectedly disrupted, food security programs like Singapore's will lead to greater investment and use of vertical farming.
Because of these reasons, expect vertical and indoor farming to become increasingly common.
