One of the world’s largest agricultural seed and chemical companies has invested in development of vertical farming.
Bayer AG of Germany has teamed up with Singapore investment bank Temasek to raise $30 million USD in a fund called Unfold.
Unfold will focus on development of seed varieties bred for the indoor conditions and artificial lightings used in vertical farms.
Most vertical farming research is based on infrastructure.
Unfold bought the rights to some seed germa-plasm from Bayer.
Vertical farming, or urban agriculture, as it is often called, has grown in recent years,
Forbes Magazine estimated vertical farming sales at $2.13 billion US in 2018 and estimates sales will grow to just over $12 billion by 2028.
Vertical farming provides fresh produce to urban dwellers, uses less water, less chemical and less of other crop inputs.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
