Indoor crops could be key for future food security

Academics at Aberystwyth University in Wales have started a new project to research vertical farming.

The development of controlled environment agriculture and vertical farming technologies needs to accelerate to meet the challenges of future food security, according to UK agri-food researchers.

Academics at Aberystwyth University in Wales have started a new project to research vertical farming, the process of producing food by growing it in stacked layers within controlled indoor environments.

This method helps farmers to produce much more on the same amount of land and reduce the environmental impact, and to avoid the future challenge presented by extreme weather events.

The new project aims to bring together experts from industry and academia to make this kind of farming more affordable.

Dr William Stiles from the university’s Department of Life Sciences, who is leading the project, said: “We know we need this technology – it’s vital to tackle potential food insecurity because of our changing climate.

“Vertical farming could be a key part of our future food production systems. One of the aspects we are looking at is the ability to switch food production into controlled environments at speed. We need to look at the technology and work to make it affordable and articulate a road map of what that future could look like.

“The vertical farming sector currently faces significant challenges as it transitions from technological infancy into the mainstream. It remains on the cusp of revolutionising food production, particularly for items too challenging to grow in this country’s existing agricultural system.” 

The Vertical Farming project is led by Aberystwyth University and also involves Cardiff Metropolitan University, Swansea University and Vertikit Ltd.

The new research project is one of 16 across Welsh universities to be funded by the Wales Innovation Network’s small grant fund.

The network's main objectives include Increasing the competitiveness of Welsh research and innovation through facilitating collaboration to build innovative and distinctive projects.

Leveraging strategic investment into Wales by working with appropriate partners to deliver impactful research and innovation.