Dossier
Vertical farming
The cultivation of crops in buildings (vertical farming) can offer many advantages. For example, by growing crops in layers above one another in empty office blocks, we can achieve sustainable, efficient and fully-controlled cultivation. Ultimately, this can mean no pesticide use, no nutrient emissions, just 2-4 litres of water per kilogram of vegetables, and a 10-20 times reduction in the amount of land required. Energy consumption is still high, but researchers are working hard to grow products using less energy than needed in a greenhouse.
Vertical farming could bring about a revolution in the production of fresh vegetables. By growing crops in layers in a controlled environment, it is possible to provide guarantees on the level and quality of production, every day of the year, and whatever the weather and climate (or climate change).
Growing vegetables in the city
In many cities, there are lots of factories and offices that are currently empty. Using these buildings for vertical farming creates a safe, healthy and sustainable pathway to providing the growing populations of these cities with locally-produced fresh food.
Want to dive into Vertical Farming?
News about Vertical farming
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Wageningen start-up produces fresh vegetables in a shipping container in Ukraine
- Tijmen Blok and Jort Maarseveen decided to launch their own start-up after graduation. Together, they designed and built the Hippotainer, a vertical farm in a shipping container. Their first Hippotainer is now churning out hundreds of heads of lettuce per week in war-torn Ukraine. -
Dynamic environmental control for more efficient vertical farming
- Vertical farming is the practice of growing plants in vertically stacked layers in a building. This makes it possible to grow vegetables close to consumers, such as next to a supermarket. Since the conditions in a vertical farm are fully controlled, crops can also grow in extreme environments like deserts or cold, dark areas. However, before vertical farming can be implemented on a large scale, several challenges need to be resolved, such as high energy consumption. Smarter use of artificial light can make significant savings, according to research conducted by Wageningen University & Research. And plant health improves too. -
Can soybeans be grown in a protected environment?
- In principle, essential macronutrients of the human diet, like protein, could technically be produced in controlled environment agriculture (CEA). This aspect becomes relevant in the era of protein transition, marked by an increasing consumer interest in plant-based protein and environmental challenges faced by conventional farming. However, the real question is: what does the indoor cultivation of protein crops imply in terms of resource use? To address this, a study was conducted by the Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs Business Unit of Wageningen University & Research using a vertical farm experiment focusing on two soybean cultivars. The results were published early this year. -
A fair comparison between high-tech greenhouses and vertical farming
- Vertical farming is often seen as the future of food production. After all, in a closed environment the climate is better controlled and water can be reused. That is correct if vertical farming is compared with, for example, an open field. But what about a high-tech greenhouse: are the benefits of vertical farming still just as great? -
What is the best cultivation strategy in a vertical farm?
- Vertical farming takes place in a fully controlled environment with minimal space use and without the use of chemical crop protection products. It is a promising solution for food production for many applications and regions. But what is the best cultivation strategy in such a vertical farm? This is what the Business Unit Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs of Wageningen University & Research is investigating. A growth model is under development for lettuce.
Examples of projects:
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Implications of Vertical Farming for greenhouse horticulture
- Global developments are a rapidly growing population, an increasing proportion of people living in the cities, and an increasing demand for healthy and fresh food. In order to meet these developments, local production of high-quality food is needed. By growing crops in multi-layer systems, sustainable, efficient and fully controlled cultivation can be done on a relatively small surface. In this way Vertical Farming can meet the needs of a growing world population. -
Light use effciency in vertical farms
- Light is the most prominent factor affecting plant growth and it also is the main factor determining the costs of vertical farms. Therefore, there is an urgent need to optimize the efficiency of the use of light.
GROWx 2.0 Robotic vertical farm
Together with the AMS Institute and GROWx we are setting up an efficient, fully robotized, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven vertical farm in Amsterdam. The goal is to develop a viable vertical farming business model.
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Webinar and Lecture
- Key factors for optimal crop production in greenhouses and vertical farms by Leo Marcelis - 19 January 2018
- Lecture recordings and slides of Leo Marcelis and Jan Willem van der Schrans at Indoor Farming Seminar - 1 November 2017
In the media:
- Could indoor farming help address future food shortages? - PBS NewsHour - 11 Nov 2017
- Pays-Bas: écolos et productivistes - TV France - 12 okt 2016
