Vertical farming startup Plenty has, so far, attracted $200 million in agriculture-tech investment and plans to use this money to set-up more farms around the world and make the concept of indoor farming more viable and accessible.
This huge investment has created more interest around the vertical farming technique which grows food in hanging modules or trays in a climate-controlled indoor environment. For example, Plenty grows its food on glowing, LED-lit 20-foot-tall towers inside a former electronics distribution center in San Francisco, California. The technique eliminates the need for natural sunlight and pesticides.
Benefits of vertical farming include: making farming more reliable and consistent, less dependent on weather, reduced or eliminated use of pesticides and insecticides, ability to grow certain types of food all year round and in smaller spaces.
Founded in 2014, Plenty claims to grow up to 350 times more greens than conventional farms of similar size, while using much less water, land and chemicals. Matt Barnard, CEO of Plenty, explains that the company’s goal is to “revolutionise the way the world grows food — and sell that food for lower prices.”
The $200 million investment will be used to build the company’s global farm network and help grow awareness of, and interest in, the indoor farming industry in general.
This significant investment is likely to make indoor agriculture and urban agriculture more popular and may also encourage other investors to fund vertical farming companies.
