{"id":30790,"date":"2024-07-29T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fundacionbankinter.org\/noticias\/urban-agriculture-vertical-and-indoor\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T18:29:50","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T16:29:50","slug":"urban-agriculture-vertical-and-indoor","status":"publish","type":"noticias","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionbankinter.org\/en\/news\/urban-agriculture-vertical-and-indoor\/","title":{"rendered":"Urban agriculture (vertical and indoor)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Future Trends Forum, Tech to Table: Advances in agriculture that will define the future of food<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, organised by the Bankinter Innovation Foundation in Madrid, reflected on the challenges in the agricultural sector<\/a> and the role of innovation in transforming challenges into opportunities. The activity and impact of agriculture is not only located in the fields. Cities are great devourers of food resources<\/strong>, as well as excretors of waste. <\/p>\n\n

Can cities close the loop on their food production? Is it possible to include vertical farming plots within buildings? Vertical farming \u2013 stacking trays of crops up to the ceiling of industrial buildings irrigated with LED light or columns full of crops \u2013 is postulated as one of the future agricultural formulas waiting for a new agricultural revolution that competes with drones in the fields and satellites that monitor crops. <\/p>\n\n

The state of the art of vertical farming<\/h2>\n\n

When someone enters a vertical lettuce plantation, the first thing they realize is that the farmers are not tanned and, if it were not for a narrow strip through which the eyes are seen, they would not even be there. They wander around dressed entirely in white with foot coverings, gloves, and often protective lab goggles. They wear hairnets in their hair as if they were handling space material. And almost, because it is the only way to grow in space. <\/p>\n\n

Stacked on shelves several tens of metres high, millions of trays contain an infinity of small plants planted in recycled substrate that floats in a liquid with a high concentration of nutrients. The pinkish light resulting from combining blue light with red light bathes the leaves (green under white light, purple under that atmosphere). It is a very efficient machine that uses the right energy, materials and nutrients. <\/p>\n\n

One in three of the hydroponic crops (plants floating in liquid, without soil<\/em>) were concentrated in North America. The United States and Canada are experts in growing leafy greens like lettuce with their more than 2,500 vertical farms. It is closely followed by China<\/g>, Singapore<\/g> and Taiwan<\/g>. Technology advances fast, but it also quickly runs into barriers. <\/p>\n\n

Pros and Cons of Filling Cities with Vertical Crops<\/h2>\n\n

Among the many advantages of urban vertical farming<\/strong> are: <\/p>\n\n