Growing Crops through Vertical Farming: A Modern Agriculture Practice

Table of Contents  

• What is Vertical Farming? 
• What is the Current Scenario of Vertical Farming in India?  
• What are the Top Vertical Farming Companies in India?  
• What are the Major Crops in Vertical Farming?
• Vertical Farming Model: How Vertical Farming Works? 
• Which are the Popular Methods of Vertical Farming? 
  • Aeroponics 
  • Hydroponics 
  • Aquaponics 
• What are the Advantages of Vertical Farming? 
• What are the Challenges in Adopting Vertical Farming? 
• What is the Future of Vertical Farming in India? 

What is Vertical Farming? 

Vertical farming is the practice of growing crops on vertically stacked surfaces instead of conventional horizontal surfaces. It is the solution for limited land area and hygienic crop production. It helps farmers to produce more food in less available space. This farming method uses indoor spaces and is practised in a controlled environment, removing the risk of an uncertain climate. It uses hydroponic or aeroponic techniques to supply water and nutrients to plants. In this system, plant roots are suspended in air or in floating water, which has a nutrient solution. 

It is easy to consider vertical agriculture as stacking plants and leaving them to grow. However, this is not the case. It demands a lot of work, including controlling artificial light, temperature, water, and humidity. If the proper balance is not met, the entire crop can be damaged.  

What is the Current Scenario of Vertical Farming in India?  

The vertical farming market is still in its growth phase. A range of factors, like urban farming trends, sustainable agriculture practices and rising food demand, is boosting it. In simple words, urban farming in India refers to producing food in cities.  

In 2022, the vertical farming market was worth USD 42.2 million, and it is projected to increase to USD 187.9 million by 2030, growing with a CAGR of 20.5% during the forecast period 2024-2031. Arable land is limited in India and has been declining over the years. Vertical farming optimises land use to cultivate more crops in less space than traditional farming.  

What are the Top Vertical Farming Companies in India? 

Vertical agriculture is becoming popular in India as a sustainable way to grow food in cities. For example, vertical farming in Tamil Nadu is practised by the Kryzen Biotech hydroponic farm in Salem. 

 Here are some of the top vertical farming companies in India: 

• Future Farms 
• UrbanKissan 
• Agricool India 
• Letcetra Agritech 
• Triton Foodworks 

What are the Major Crops in Vertical Farming?

Different crop types can be grown using vertical farming. The type depends on several factors: the available space, crop demand and budget. Crops that are usually grown in vertical farming include leafy greens, herbs, microgreens, strawberries, and medicinal and aromatic plants. 

Some popular examples of vertical farming ventures in India are: 

• Mushroom Production 
• Poultry Production (Broiler and Eggs) 
• Garden Wall/Bio Wall 
• Hydroponic Fodder 
• Strawberry Vertical Farming 
• Cucurbits Trained Vertically 
• Micro Greens 
• Farm Containers 

Vertical Farming Model: How Vertical Farming Works? 

There are four major areas to understand how vertical farming works. These are: 

• Physical Structure: Vertical farming aims to grow more crops per square meter. For this purpose, a tower-like structure is needed to cultivate crops in stacked layers.  
• Lighting: The vertical farming model prioritises artificial lighting to provide ample light to crops. LED lights are used to enhance lighting efficiency while being cost-effective. A balance between artificial lighting and sunlight can be achieved to ensure a suitable light level in the building. 
• Growing Medium: Typically, vertical farming does not use soil. It focuses on soilless technologies like hydroponics, aquaponics and aeroponics. 
• Sustainability: Vertical farming adopts sustainable practices to produce eco-friendly food. Thus, it uses less water and no chemicals and reuses resources. 

Which are the Popular Methods of Vertical Farming? 

The most popular techniques of vertical farming are aeroponics, aquaponics and hydroponics. Let’s understand each of these methods in detail below.

Aeroponics 

No liquid or solid medium is used in aeroponics. Air is used to produce crops. The roots of plants are suspended in a mist or air environment rich in nutrients. The crops receive key nutrients through a nutrient-rich mist. This vertical farming technology increases productivity and allows for faster growth rates. Also, there is efficient use of water. 

Hydroponics 

Hydroponics uses nutrient-rich water solutions to provide vital minerals to the roots directly. You can precisely deliver nutrients without wastage of water. Thus, the growth is faster, and crop yield is higher. 

Aquaponics 

Aquaponics mixes aquaculture and hydroponics to cultivate plants and fish together. Water houses the crop roots along with fish. Plants receive healthy bacteria and nutrients from fish while the plants filter the same water. This vertical farming technology maintains a balanced ecosystem for both plants and fish. 

What are the Advantages of Vertical Farming? 

The key benefits of vertical farming are efficient land use, year-round crop production, water conservation, and fewer chemicals. 

• Vertical farming technology grows more crops with relatively less land space. The per square meter crop yield is considerably increased in vertically stacked structures. 
• Aeroponics and hydroponics are popular vertical farming systems that use less water than traditional methods. Due to the closed-loop systems, vertical farming recirculates water, minimizing water wastage. 
• The need for chemicals like herbicides and pesticides is reduced in indoor environments. The risk of diseases and pests is minimized in a controlled environment.  
• Vertical farming offers climate resilience, due to which year-round production is possible. The closed-loop system protects plants from seasonal changes and extreme weather conditions.  

What are the Challenges in Adopting Vertical Farming? 

The major challenges in adopting vertical farming in India include high costs and high energy consumption. The other challenges include: 

• Cost-intensive cultivation. 
• Considering vertical farming as supplementary farming. 
• Partial or no-plant nature interaction. 
• Developing ideal varieties or hybrids of ideal crops. 
• Lack of infrastructure and expertise. 
• Producing unpleasant odour/smell over time (cannot be referred to as total environment-friendly technology). 

What is the Future of Vertical Farming in India? 

Vertical farming in the coming years will be more high-tech so that more food is produced while being more sustainable. It will address the present challenges of vertical farming, like high costs and energy consumption. Even though it has many limitations, vertical farming has the potential to produce ten times more per unit area compared to traditional agriculture. It also has the scope of integrating into the present and futuristic lifestyle of food production and consumption. It is a sustainable farming method with many benefits, such as less requirement for land, fertilizers, water, pesticides and other inputs. Vertical farming will definitely become a key part of modern agriculture. Future vertical farming is going to be more scalable, cost-effective and accessible.