#vertical farms

[agrinextcon]

From Rooftops to Vertical Farms: How Urban Agriculture is Reshaping City Life

Urban agriculture is revolutionizing city life by creating green spaces, improving food security, and fostering community engagement. As urbanization accelerates, smart and sustainable farming practices are emerging worldwide, redefining how food is produced and consumed in cities.

According to Expert Market Research, the smart agriculture market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2025 to 2034, potentially reaching a valuation of USD 44.18 billion by 2034. This trend underscores the global shift towards urban farming as cities seek innovative solutions for sustainable food production.

A Global Movement

In 2024, urban agriculture has become a global phenomenon, with over 800 million people engaged, according to the FAO. This movement is particularly visible in:

China, where urban farming is expanding rapidly in metropolitan areas like Beijing and Shanghai, with 20 million square meters of rooftop gardens.

The United States, where initiatives like Brooklyn Grange : A rooftop farm network that produces over 100,000 pounds of organic food annually.

India, where urban gardens in Mumbai and Delhi contribute to 60% of fresh vegetable needs in some areas.

Singapore, a leader in vertical farming, using advanced techniques to boost local food security.

Germany, where cities like Berlin are converting vacant lots into community gardens, strengthening local food networks.

The United Arab Emirates, where large- scale  vertical farms like ECO 1 in Dubai are using AI and hydroponics to grow fresh produce in arid conditions.

Urban Agriculture Success Stories

China: Vertical Farming Innovations

China is actively incorporating urban agriculture into national policies. Inspired by Singapore’s Sky Greens model, major cities like Beijing and Shanghai have transformed rooftops into farms, producing up to 1,000 kg of vegetables daily. According to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, urban farms could contribute 15% of China’s vegetable supply by 2030.

United States: Urban Farming Boom

The U.S. is witnessing significant growth in urban agriculture, with cities investing in community gardens and vertical farms.

Brooklyn Grange (New York City): A rooftop farm network producing 100,000+ pounds of organic food annually.

Los Angeles Urban Farming Company: Converts abandoned lots into productive farms, yielding 500,000+ pounds of fresh produce yearly.

India: Rooftops to Gardens

Urban agriculture is gaining popularity in Mumbai and Delhi, where it helps address food insecurity.

Urban Leaves (Mumbai):

Urban Leaves is a Mumbai-based initiative that converts rooftops and unused urban spaces into thriving organic farms. By promoting permaculture techniques and community engagement, it empowers city dwellers to grow their own fresh produce, enhancing food security in urban areas.

National Horticulture Board: Reports that urban farming could support 40% of urban households between 2025 and 2034.

United Kingdom: A Green Revolution

The UK is advancing urban farming through initiatives like London’s Urban Food Strategy, aiming to increase local food production by 2030. The Greater London Authority suggests that if every resident grew just one tomato plant, the city could produce over 2 million tomatoes annually.

Brazil: Urban Agriculture for Social Impact

In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, urban farming initiatives are turning vacant lots into thriving community gardens. Projects like the Hortas Cariocas program provide fresh produce to low-income neighborhoods while promoting environmental sustainability and social inclusion.

Japan: Farming in Harmony with Nature

Tokyo’s "Parks for People" integrates urban farming into public spaces, enabling communities to grow food in shared gardens. Hydroponic farms in Tokyo are reportedly 10 times more productive than traditional farming methods, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

UAE: A Leader in Vertical and Urban Farming

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is at the forefront of urban and vertical farming, addressing water scarcity, extreme temperatures, and reliance on food imports. With over 90% of its food imported, the UAE has prioritized high-tech farming solutions such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and AI-driven agriculture to secure its food future.

Key Urban Farming Initiatives in the UAE

ECO 1 : The World’s Largest Vertical Farm

A joint venture between Crop One Holdings and Emirates Flight Catering, Dubai’s ECO 1 is a 30,000-square-meter vertical farm producing 900+ tonnes of leafy greens annually while using 95% less water.

Badia Farms :The UAE’s First Urban Vertical Farm

Established in 2016, Badia Farms grows microgreens and herbs using hydroponic techniques, supplying top Dubai restaurants with pesticide-free produce.

Plenty & Mawarid Ventures: Expanding Vertical Farming

In 2024, U.S.-based Plenty partnered with Mawarid Ventures to create a $680 million joint venture, establishing five vertical farms in the Middle East, including a strawberry farm in Abu Dhabi.

Pure Harvest Smart Farms: AI-Powered Agriculture

Abu Dhabi-based Pure Harvest has developed AI-controlled greenhouses that optimize temperature, humidity, and irrigation to grow high-yield crops in desert conditions.

The Future of Urban Agriculture in the UAE

The UAE government is driving urban agriculture through the National Food Security Strategy 2051, supporting agritech startups and sustainable farming projects. With continuous investments in AI-driven vertical farms, the UAE is setting a global benchmark for smart agriculture in arid regions.

Conclusion

Urban agriculture is reshaping cities worldwide, promoting sustainability, food security, and local resilience. From vertical farming in China to community gardens in Brazil, cities are adopting innovative food production models.

In the UAE, urban agriculture is a strategic priority, with large-scale vertical farms, AI-powered greenhouses, and government-backed initiatives driving progress. As technology advances, the UAE is emerging as a global leader in sustainable urban farming, setting a benchmark for future food security

AgriNext Awards,Conference & Expo 2025: A Hub for Urban Agriculture Innovations

AgriNext 2025 will spotlight cutting-edge urban agriculture solutions,bringing together experts, startups, and industry leaders to explore sustainable urban farming solutions. The event will highlight advancements in vertical farming, hydroponics, and smart urban greenhouses, addressing food security and environmental challenges. With live demonstrations and expert panels, AgriNext 2025 will be a key platform for shaping the future of urban food production.

[justalittlesolarpunk]

It’s solar and wind and tidal and geothermal and hydropower.

It’s plant-based diets and regenerative livestock farming and insect protein and lab-grown meat.

It’s electric cars and reliable public transit and decreasing how far and how often we travel.

It’s growing your own vegetables and community gardens and vertical farms and supporting local producers.

It’s rewilding the countryside and greening cities.

It’s getting people active and improving disabled access.

It’s making your own clothes and buying or swapping sustainable stuff with your neighbours.

It’s the right to repair and reducing consumption in the first place.

It’s greater land rights for the commons and indigenous peoples and creating protected areas.

It’s radical, drastic change and community consensus.

It’s labour rights and less work.

It’s science and arts.

It’s theoretical academic thought and concrete practical action.

It’s signing petitions and campaigning and protesting and civil disobedience.

It’s sailboats and zeppelins.

It’s the speculative and the possible.

It’s raising living standards and curbing consumerism.

It’s global and local.

It’s me and you.

Climate solutions look different for everyone, and we all have something to offer.

[cpw-nyc]

Vertical farms: A new form of agriculture

In downtown Jackson, Wyoming, a small plot of land, 30 by 150 feet, produces 100,000 pounds of produce a year, thanks to a farm that soars in the air. Correspondent Martha Teichner looks at the growing industry of locally-sourced vertical farms for urban communities.

May 22, 2022

[boschintegral-photo]

Spring In The Countryside

[reportsofagrandfuture]

[reasonsforhope]

"Arlington, Virginia is like a gateway to the city of Washington D.C. Part of the Metro line, but across the Potomac, it’s nevertheless a busy area and not the kind of place you’d expect to be able to get minutes-old, farm-fresh produce.

But Area 2 Farms is growing greens, herbs, and root vegetables in a vertical farm thanks to the dearth of traditional office tenants. With high-rise office space remaining vacant even after the end of the pandemic, landlords are open to ideas.

Jackie Potter and Tyler Baras pitched the idea of an indoor farm and it was obviously a good one because Area 2 is already well-established in the Arlington area such that they offer subscription delivery of fresh veggies to fellow urbanites starting at $40 per week.

Area 2 Farms uses a sophisticated conveyor belt system called Silo to cut down on the more laborious hours of indoor farming. It’s not a hydroponic system—there is soil inside Area 2 Farms which means they can grow root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and radishes.

When executed correctly, vertical farming can produce as much as traditional farming but with a lot less space, and no concern over weather or pests. Obviously as well it can be done in the center of a city, where land is at a premium...

“Cities are changing every day,” Potter tells Modern Farmer. “There’s a really great economic opportunity as well. Our farms create new green jobs, they beautify spaces and provide fresh food to local communities. That’s something that’s really precious.”"

-via Good News Network, 7/14/23

[probablyasocialecologist]

One founder told me that many investors don’t really understand this space, and that they’re often drawn to the sexiest, most revolutionary technology, rather than more incremental improvements and business models that are already proven, like lower-tech greenhouses.  It’s also hard to make money selling baby greens rather than a high price-point item like cannabis—or even just more expensive produce, like berries. “Is it worth spending $20 million on a cutting-edge system when you’re producing objects that might get $1 or $2 in the marketplace? That’s the problem,” says Stein, the Penn State business professor. (As a growing number of indoor farms have started selling branded greens, the competition is also making it harder to get placement in grocery stores.) If companies look to make more money by charging a large premium for a box of greens, there’s a relatively limited group of consumers willing to pay more for salad. 

[cognitivejustice]

Meet Linda Kathambi, a pioneering farmer who has embraced the future of urban agriculture through hydroponic and vertical farming systems.

[allthisandtea]

A favorite scientist and podcaster of mine, Dr. Dickson Despommier, has died, and I am pretty bummed. His podcast, This Week in Parasitism, got be interested in parasitology and virology, and he was widely considered one of the fathers of vertical farming.

Thanks for everything, Dickson. You'll be missed.

https://igrownews.com/dickson-despommier-visionary-of-vertical-farming-passes-away/

[xscape-photography]

Countryside Views.

[angeart]

i made an enderman xp farm. can you tell?

[bumblebeeappletree]

Clayton fostered his love for numbers by playing poker - a lot of poker. Now, he’s using that mentality to launch a vertical farm company that he believes can “replace the produce aisle.”

Up Next ► Aquaponic farms in shipping containers • Aquaponic farms in shi...

“We think everyone deserves access to reliable local food year-round,” says Nebullam co-founder Clayton Mooney. “Our vision is to replace the produce aisle.”

When Mooney and Danen Pool founded indoor farming company Nebullam in 2017, they knew that growing crops indoors would be the future of farming. At the time, however, indoor farming technology was far from futuristic. “We saw that indoor farming was very antiquated,” said Mooney.

So, Nebullam set out to optimize the future of farming. The company's initial goal was to develop and sell technology to up-and-coming indoor farming companies, including software that helps analyze and optimize the production process, and equipment that’s more mobile so farmers can position crops where indoor conditions are ideal.

But when faced with the pandemic, Nebullam had to overhaul their business model. Here’s how the indoor farming company pivoted to become profitable during unprecedented times, and how they plan to continue to scale.

[thumphorticulture]

Designed to accommodate various tray sizes, including the popular grow tables 4x8, they provide a stable and adjustable platform for plant cultivation.

[ember-atelier]

Skymill Tower - Tinder Colony.

Skymill Tower was the first experimental vertical farm to be constructed in Tinder Colony, where traditional farms were unsuitable due to the limited land area, dense population and hilly terrain. Each of the farm's 14 working levels are served throughout by a hydroponic system which provides water and nutrients for the plants, while powerful lamps encourage productive crop yields.

Although small, the farm was a success and several larger structures were constructed throughout the colony such as the Viranant livestock tower and the circular Tinder Skygarden, which at the time of its construction, was the largest vertical farm in the World.

[boschintegral-photo]

Spring In The Countryside