Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) has been mushrooming globally over the past two decades, in several forms and for various purposes. Europe represents one of the most diverse and vibrant communities of CEA stakeholders across the globe, where many innovations and pilot projects take place.
“The expansion of vertical farming has boosted research on controlled environment agriculture from which the existing greenhouse horticulture industry also benefits. Greenhouse vegetable producers often have established relationships with food distributors and are high-efficiency operators. Therefore, they may compete with vertical farms, instead of complement, for the same market, especially in regions or countries with a high concentration of greenhouses, like the Netherlands. Despite vertical farming companies often claiming to be “environmentally friendly” the actual sustainability of vertical farms is still under review by scientific researchers, and it appears to be site- and case-specific” (p.78)
Embedded and proactive in this landscape, FarmTech Society is mentioned as an international non-profit industry association that unites and supports the CEA industry, seeking to strengthen the sector through the development and implementation of resilient and future proof methods and technologies for indoor growing. FarmTech Society is also striving to establish industry-certified vocational training to build CEA’s workforce and incentivize professional conversions to this exciting innovative sector.
The authors’ typology of Vertical Farms in Europe and some stakeholders for each:
Plant Factories with Artificial Lighting
Jones Food Company (UK)
Urban Harvest (BE)
Container Farms
Agricool (FR)
Urban Crop Solutions (BE)
In-Store Farms
Infarm (GER)
Appliance Farms
Click & Grow (EST)
Prêt à Pousser (FR)
“The increasing importance of the emerging vertical farming industry has not gone unnoticed among established companies in search of opportunities for growth. Historical players in the greenhouse industry are expanding into vertical farming as a strategy for market development, identifying new users for current products. Similarly, companies previously strangers to the world of horticulture are rapidly expanding into the vertical farming sector.” (p.86)
Find on Elsevier the article “Vertical farming in Europe: Present status and outlook” by M. Butturini & L. F. M. Marcelis, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-816691-8.00004-2
Wondering what CEA is and how it provides sustainable solutions to critical societal challenges? Check out our CEA Presentation Page https://farmtechsociety.org/controlled-environment-agriculture-cea/
