With the escalating demand for food production, it has become evident that substantial transformations are necessary at every level of the global food system to address the future challenges of food security and environmental sustainability.
The agriculture industry must adapt to the challenges posed by the concurrent growth of the global population and the climate change crisis. Furthermore, it must address the imperative to produce more efficiently, using fewer chemicals and less water, while being located near the expanding urban areas.
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), or indoor farming, offers several advantages over traditional farming by providing separation between production processes and the natural environment. This reduces reliance on environmental conditions, enhances control over pollution, and improves overall sustainability. CEA encompasses various systems, ranging from basic shade structures to greenhouses and fully indoor or vertical farms. While these methods share the common feature of indoor growing, they differ significantly in terms of cultivation techniques and sophistication levels.
Having successfully operated in this field since its inception, introducing innovations and fostering crucial synergies, I have often encountered significant confusion among those outside the industry regarding the various types of indoor farms. Therefore, the objective of this article is to present my perspectives on two prevalent forms of controlled environment agriculture: greenhouses and vertical farms.
Greenhouses have been a staple in agriculture for centuries. These structures provide protection from harsh weather conditions and pests, creating an ideal environment for plants to thrive. With the ability to control temperature, humidity, and light levels, greenhouses extend the growing season and increase crop yields. They have played a significant role in meeting the demand for fresh produce and ensuring food security.
On the other hand, vertical farms are the most sophisticated form of Controlled Environment Agriculture, enabling precision farming akin to a factory-style setup. In vertical farms, crops are grown in vertically stacked layers, often in indoor settings. By utilizing hydroponics or aeroponics systems, these farms can produce crops without soil, using nutrient-rich water or mist. In their urban configurations, are strategically situated in closer proximity to city consumers, utilizing various locations such as rooftops, basements, and abandoned buildings, among others.
Indoor solutions have been theorized and debated by agronomists and industry specialists for some time, with the first concept of a vertical farm introduced in 1999. They have made significant advancements in recent years, thanks to the use of advanced LED lighting systems, high-tech air conditioning units, and innovative sensors. The increasing adoption of machine learning and advanced data analytics has further contributed to their growth.
Nevertheless, before reaching a definitive conclusion on the widespread adoption of vertical farms over greenhouses, various factors need to be carefully considered.
Power Consumption
In the case of greenhouses, power consumption is typically lower compared to vertical farms. Greenhouses often rely on natural sunlight for illumination during the day, reducing the need for artificial lighting. However, they still require electricity for ventilation systems, heating, cooling, irrigation, and other environmental controls. The power consumption of greenhouses largely depends on the size of the structure, the level of automation, and the specific equipment used.
The primary challenge faced by vertical farms revolves around energy consumption. Unlike traditional outdoor agricultural fields, relying on solar radiation, vertical farms heavily depend on supplementary LED lighting to achieve optimal radiation and PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) values. This reliance on artificial lighting leads to significantly higher energy costs, posing a threat to profitability, especially during peak usage periods.
Also, the operation of devices and equipment, including sensors, cameras, fans, and pumps, requires significant energy consumption, which can be offset through the use of renewable energy and the implementation of power-saving techniques. However, regarding the integration of solar power in farming, to be truly effective, it is crucial to consider the inclusion of storage batteries to ensure a consistent power supply. Therefore, it becomes necessary to have alternative infrastructure in place to provide electricity for the facility on cloudy days. Although the technology for solar storage is advancing, its implementation in the vertical farming industry is still limited due to the associated costs.
While incorporating energy-efficient equipment such as chillers and LED lighting can contribute to reducing energy consumption, the overall energy requirement remains substantial. On the other side, utilizing fossil-fuel-generated electricity further exacerbates the carbon footprint, counteracting the potential environmental benefits initially associated with indoor farming systems, and erasing the environmental benefits (being this especially true for vertical farms). Also, vertical farms are built with multiple stacked layers, often indoors or in urban environments. This limited space means that there might not be enough surface area to install a significant number of solar panels to meet the energy demands of the farm adequately. In conclusion, while solar power can certainly contribute to the energy supply of vertical farms and help lower their carbon footprint, it may not be a complete standalone solution to significantly reduce energy consumption. Integrating solar power with other renewable energy sources and adopting energy-efficient technologies can be a more practical approach to making vertical farms more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Vertical farms exhibit significantly higher average energy consumption, averaging 17.6 kWh per lb. of produce (i.e. 38.8 kWh per kg.), in contrast to traditional greenhouses, which average 2.45 kWh per lb. of produce (i.e.5.4 kWh per kg.). This translates to approximately seven times more energy usage than conventional greenhouses. Furthermore, a study conducted by the Journal of Cleaner Production in 2022 revealed that the baseline carbon footprint of a vertical farm was found to be 5.7 to 16.7 times higher compared to that of a traditional farm field.
However, it is important to note that advancements in energy-efficient technologies, such as LED lighting and optimized environmental control systems, are continuously being developed and implemented in both greenhouses and vertical farms. These advancements aim to reduce overall power consumption and increase energy efficiency in indoor farming operations.
Labour
CEA operations also require a large team to operate efficiently, with tasks ranging from monitoring to logistics. Automation, supported by advancements in robotics and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technology, can help reduce labor costs and make facilities more efficient and economically viable. Furthermore, the recent pandemic has highlighted the uncertainties associated with human labor, including staff turnover, wage increases, absences, and human error, and the need to carefully budget for these cost implications.
In order to effectively implement vertical farming on a large scale, a significant amount of automation is required. The future of vertical farming envisions a factory-like environment where various tasks such as seeding, watering, harvesting, and packaging the viable ones for sale are executed with minimal human intervention. Artificial intelligence algorithms can analyze data from sensors and make intelligent decisions to optimize resource usage and predict potential issues. It is also possible to leverage the robotic technology already utilized in the traditional food and beverage industry (automated lettuce harvesting, for instance, is already in existence).
The integration of automation in CEA agriculture offers numerous benefits. It reduces labor costs, as fewer workers are required for repetitive and physically demanding tasks. It also minimizes the risk of human error, as machines can consistently perform tasks with precision and accuracy. Additionally, automation enables continuous operation, ensuring a more reliable and consistent supply of crops throughout the year.
However, it is important to strike a balance between labor and automation. While automation brings undeniable advantages, the human touch should not be overlooked or underestimated. Human labor is still crucial for certain tasks that require judgment, creativity, and problem-solving skills. For example, plant inspection, disease diagnosis, and crop selection for harvest often require human expertise. Skilled labor is also needed for the design, maintenance, and management of CEA systems. Human involvement ensures adaptability to unforeseen circumstances and the ability to make critical decisions based on experience and intuition.
Food Safety
While CEA operations are not affected by food safety risks associated with outdoor farms, such as birds flying overhead, wildlife, and domestic animals, indoor operations have their unique risks, similar to traditional operations, and others more similar to risks in a manufacturing environment. Therefore, food safety experts warn that CEA operations must be carefully managed to minimize these risks.
The design and construction of CEA facilities should prioritize food safety. Implementing good manufacturing practices (GMP) and adhering to established guidelines ensures proper sanitation, ventilation, and waste management. Facilities should be designed to prevent cross-contamination, with separate areas for different stages of production, including seedling preparation, growing, and packaging.
Scaling Up and Repeatability
In order for vertical farming to gain traction, it is crucial that vertically farmed-produce becomes accessible at an affordable price. To make it financially viable, it is important to focus on scaling up. Greenhouse indoor solutions offer greater scalability and flexibility when compared to vertical farms. In contrast, vertical farms require significant reconfiguration and investment to accommodate changes, making them less flexible for rapid adjustments.
In order to attain the required level of repeatability for producing high-quality produce, it is essential to employ process engineering in the factory to ensure consistent inputs and outputs. Each plant should receive identical nutrients, the same water flow, and thrive under the same conditions. By developing cost-effective engineering solutions, we will unlock the potential for large-scale vertical farming.
As the popularity of vertical farming grows, a network of vertical farm operators and experts is also emerging in conjunction with industry associations. This network fosters knowledge sharing, collaboration, and the development of standardized practices within the industry. Access to this network can help vertical farm operators overcome challenges and gain insights into successfully scaling up their operations.
Conclusion
While both greenhouses and vertical farms have their unique advantages, efforts are underway to combine the best of both worlds and bridge the gap between these two approaches. By doing so, we can leverage the controlled environments of greenhouses and the space-saving efficiency of vertical farms to create even more sustainable and productive farming systems.
In areas where there is a shortfall in meeting food security and where imported food prices are already high, vertical farms can serve as a valuable addition to traditional agriculture. Also, Vertical Farms are prioritizing water-saving capabilities leading to water usage reductions of up to 90%-95% compared to traditional farms (approximately 66% of the surveyed farms achieved this level of efficiency as per the 2021 Global CEA Census Report).
Despite recent developments, I maintain a strong belief in the immense potential of vertical farming’s innovative and transformative nature to reshape the landscape of agriculture and enhance food security in the future. As the industry continues to mature and new technologies emerge, vertical farms have the potential to scale up further, meeting the growing demand for sustainable and efficient food production.
But there is a valuable lesson for everyone in the current challenging situation: it is equally crucial to understand what does not work, as it paves the way for an evolutionary process within the innovation field, ultimately leading to the desired widespread adoption in the mainstream market. Substantial financial resources were allocated to the advancement of technologies that have already been established elsewhere. Furthermore, several challenges were encountered within the industry, including high salaries, inexperienced growers and engineers, frequent employee turnover, and inadequate adherence to Standard Operating Procedures.
To tackle these challenges, it will be necessary to invest in research, development, and innovation, with the aim of enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of Vertical Farms. Additionally, collaboration among industry stakeholders, policymakers, and researchers will be crucial in addressing regulatory obstacles and securing the long-term viability of this industry.
The future holds a convergence of diverse cultivation methods, marked by the rapid expansion of greenhouse systems. The agricultural industry already possesses substantial knowledge and expertise in greenhouse cultivation, as growers are familiar with greenhouse management practices. By leveraging this existing knowledge base, the adoption of greenhouse indoor solutions becomes more straightforward and less time-consuming.
In contrast, vertical farms entail a steeper learning curve and often require specialized training and expertise. Nevertheless, as urbanization progresses, there will be a heightened emphasis on intensive, large-scale food production in close proximity to densely populated regions. Consequently, the establishment of thriving Vertical Farms near major cities is anticipated. The precise proportion of overall food production that will be challenging to ascertain; greenhouses are better suited for larger plants and crops that benefit from natural sunlight (tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper, leafy greens), while vertical farms are more suitable for smaller, compact crops and those that thrive in controlled indoor environments with artificial lighting and precise climate control (leafy greens, microgreens, and sprouts, strawberries, medicinal plants). Both approaches offer valuable solutions for sustainable agriculture, and the choice of crops depends on the specific goals and resources of the farming operation.
In conclusion, while vertical farms hold immense potential for future sustainable agriculture, greenhouse indoor solutions offer several advantages that make them more favorable in the short term. The cost-effectiveness, scalability, utilization of natural resources, existing agricultural knowledge, and market acceptance make greenhouse indoor solutions a favorable choice for growers seeking immediate sustainable production. As technology advances and vertical farming practices mature, it is essential to evaluate the long-term viability and sustainability of both approaches to ensure a resilient and efficient future for agricultural production.
