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Current status and future challenges in implementing and upscaling vertical farming systems

Nature Food volume 2, pages 944–956 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Vertical farming can produce food in a climate-resilient manner, potentially emitting zero pesticides and fertilizers, and with lower land and water use than conventional agriculture. Vertical farming systems (VFS) can meet daily consumer demands for nutritious fresh products, forming a part of resilient food systems—particularly in and around densely populated areas. VFS currently produce a limited range of crops including fruits, vegetables and herbs, but successful implementation of vertical farming as part of mainstream agriculture will require improvements in profitability, energy efficiency, public policy and consumer acceptance. Here we discuss VFS as multi-layer indoor crop cultivation systems, exploring state-of-the-art vertical farming and future challenges in the fields of plant growth, product quality, automation, robotics, system control and environmental sustainability and how research and development, socio-economic and policy-related institutions must work together to ensure successful upscaling of VFS to future food systems.

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Fig. 1: Key differences between open-field farming and vertical farming.
Fig. 2: Schematic drawings of hydroponic and aeroponic soilless cultivation systems.
Fig. 3: Light quality influences lettuce coloration.
Fig. 4: Sankey diagrams of the conversion of solar energy to PAR.

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Acknowledgements

We apologize to those authors whose research could not be cited due to space limits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Horticulture and Product Physiology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    S. H. van Delden, M. SharathKumar, M. Butturini, E. Heuvelink, E. Kaiser, R. S. Klamer, R. E. Schouten, W. van Ieperen, J. C. Verdonk, S. Vialet-Chabrand, E. J. Woltering & L. F. M. Marcelis

  2. Greenhouse Horticulture and Flower Bulbs, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    L. J. A. Graamans & C. Stanghellini

  3. Biosystems Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    M. Kacira

  4. Knowledge, Technology and Innovation Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    L. Klerkx

  5. Farm Technology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    G. Kootstra

  6. Faculty of Science, Athena Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    A. Loeber

  7. Wageningen Food & Biobased Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    E. J. Woltering

  8. Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

    R. van de Zedde

  9. Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Y. Zhang

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  1. S. H. van Delden
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Contributions

S.H.v.D., M.S., M.B., R.S.K. and L.F.M.M. defined the structure and topics of the Review. S.H.v.D. led the writing and reviewing process together with M.S., M.B., E.K. and L.F.M.M. The main contributors for each section are as follows: for the Abstract and Introduction, S.H.v.D.; for ‘Crop growth’, M.S., E.K., E.H., S.V.-C. and S.H.v.D.; for ‘Product quality’, E.J.W., J.C.V., R.E.S. and S.H.v.D.; for ‘Automation and robotics’, G.K., R.v.d.Z., M.B. and S.H.v.D.; for ‘Environmental sustainability’, L.J.A.G., W.v.I., R.S.K., C.S. and S.H.v.D.; for ‘Socio-economic impact’, L.K. and S.H.v.D.; for ‘Public policy’, A.L., M.B. and S.H.v.D.; for ‘Challenges and outlook’, M.B. and S.H.v.D.; for the parts on climate control, L.J.A.G., C.S., Y.Z. and M.K.; and for the parts on crop control, S.V.-C., E.H. and E.K. M.S. created Fig. 1. M.S. and S.H.v.D. created Figs. 2 and 3. L.J.A.G. created Fig. 4. M.B. conceived Box 1, M.S. and M.B. gathered the photos, and R.K. and S.H.v.D wrote the text. All authors proofread and approved the submitted work.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to S. H. van Delden or L. F. M. Marcelis.

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Peer review information Nature Food thanks Toyoki Kozai, Jim Monaghan and Genhua Niu for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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van Delden, S.H., SharathKumar, M., Butturini, M. et al. Current status and future challenges in implementing and upscaling vertical farming systems. Nat Food 2, 944–956 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00402-w

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