STANDARDS AND RESEARCH NEEDED FOR EXPANSION

摘要

One of the contenders for this year's Australian Macquarie Dictionary's 'word of the year.' was 'vertical farming,' but does this mean that this technology has now come of age? Richard Crowhurst reports.There is plenty of noise in the sector. Environment Secretary Michael Gove mentioned vertical farming at this year's Oxford Farming Conference and Dubai is investing ￡31 million in 'the largest vertical farm in the world.,' Another company, New York's Bowery Farming, has raised $90 million to develop indoor farms and a report has suggested that the sector could be worth almost $14,000 million by 2024. Closer to home, LettUs Grow, which develops aeroponic systems, has secured ￡1 million of public and private funding, but despite such developments, many traditional growers remain sceptical."Vertical farming is a relatively new development and is not yet widespread. However, it is attracting a lot of interest from investors and companies," comments Professor Leo Marcelis of Wageningen University. "A number of companies are making money, but there are also quite a few that are not making money. As with new sectors, a large number of companies will start and a relatively high fraction might go bankrupt, but some might be very successful."