Context: According to experts, all crops grown via vertical farming methods are usually over 95 percent water efficient and being healthy, fresh, and sustainable for the planet.
About Vertical Farming

• Vertical farming is one of the crop production strategies that falls under the term, controlled environment agriculture.
• Vertical farming grows crops in vertical, stacked layers without putting too much impact on land and water resource.
• Vertical farming, which comes under the ambit of protected cultivation, which also includes Hydroponics and aeroponics.
• Farming techniques includes soilless farming, and others which enable to control and regulate multiple variables like water, soil, temperature, humidity, and so on.
• Gilbert Ellis Bailey coined the term vertical farming in 1915.

Common Vertical Farming Techniques

• Hydroponics: It is the cultivation of plants in nutrient-enriched water, with or without the mechanical support of an inert medium such as sand, gravel, or perlite.
• Aeroponics: It was an initiative of NASA to find an efficient way to grow plants in space in the 1990s. It requires no growing medium as the nutrient solutions are sprayed over plants. It also requires very less eater, no soil, and minimal space.
• Aquaponics: It a type of farming, wherein the nutrient-rich waste from fish tanks serves as a fertiliser for the hydroponic plants.
• Cocoponics: It is another type of vertical farming which involves upcycling agricultural residues into compost and thus creating value out of it.

Significance of vertical farming

• It is financially viable to grow, harvest, and produce a particular crop throughout the year or in a specific season.
• It is 95 per cent water efficient, thereby increasing the efficiency and productivity of food production and also lead to quantum leap in water savings.
• It has the potential to create newer revenue streams and income opportunities, especially for farmers living near wastelands or marginal rural areas.
• It also helps in mitigating the soil degradation problem of India’s rural economy.
• Zero use of pesticides will have a positive contribution towards better public health.
• It has the potential to create new jobs, skill sets, and economic opportunities for the agriculture students.
• It offers massive potential to shorten and optimise farm-to-plate supply chains, as most vertical farming operations are located in urban environments.
• It makes food closer to the consumer, thereby improving nation’s GDP and reducing imports’ dependency.
• It can make efficient use of urban spaces, including previously vacant warehouses, rooftops, and other abandoned or vacant areas.
• It can reduce the use of fossil fuels by eliminating the use of tractors and large farm equipment.

Key Challenges

• Vertical farming operations can be expensive in terms of capital and operating expenses.
• Energy input is very high owing to the inter-canopy lighting which adds complexity and cost to the system.
• Finding a suitable location with adequate marketing potential can be challenging, particularly in urban areas where land and building prices are high.
• Lack of institutional, financial, and technological support in many areas may result in losses.
• Growing large, energy-intensive crops requires special designs, which causes technical challenges.
• Safely growing crops in a vertical farm requires a separate set of standards compared to crops grown using conventional agricultural practices.
• Failure to provide a trained workforce can have severe consequences for the profitability of a vertical farm.
• Maintaining the required optimal level of different factors requires careful administration.
• Lack of collaboration and data sharing among vertical farmers and researchers, has reduced the potential of vertical farming.
• Products produced, termed as ‘techno local food’, may be available only to wealthier consumers because of the higher prices.
• Potential health effects of long-term exposure to high-intensity electric lighting, poses another threat to workforce.