Vertical Farming Market Size to Reach Over USD 25,778 Million by 2030 - Hydroponics to be the Largest Segment According to a Report By Acumen Research And Consulting

According to a new report published by Acumen Research and Consulting titled “Vertical Farming Market (Growing Mechanism: Hydroponics, Aeroponics, Aquaponics; Growing Platform: Shipping Containers, Buildings; Crop Type: Greens, Fruits and Flowers, Vine Crops, Strawberry, Herbs, Tomatoes, Cannabis, Others; Hardware Components: Lighting Devices, Hydroponic Components, Climate Control, Sensing Devices) - Global Industry Analysis, Market Size, Opportunities and Forecast, 2022-2030”, the global market for vertical farming is estimated to grow at a significant rate of 25.3% from 2022 to 2030 and reach the market value of over USD 25,778 Million by 2030, rising from around USD 3,458 Million in 2021. Among the major factors responsible for this astounding growth are ever increasing population and the need to meet their demand for quality food, decrease in arable land due to growing urbanization and industrialization. Also, vertical farming is an advanced farming technique that has minimal impact of climatic conditions on the crops grown and can yield more crops per square meter area as compared to traditional farming or greenhouses. 

 

 

Asia-Pacific is expected to lead the vertical farming market throughout the forecast period on account of rising awareness towards the importance of alternative methods of farming to meet the demand of rapidly growing population. 

 

 

 

The different vertical farming mechanisms include hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics. Among these, hydroponics is the most preferred growing mechanisms in vertical farming. This segment accounted for more than half of the total market revenue in 2021 and the dominance of this segment is expected to continue over the forecast period. Hydroponics uses subsequently less water and is less vulnerable to bugs and diseases. Also, the soil alternatives such as pumice make growing environment more efficient, flexible and cost effective to set up. 

 

Rather than growing crops on open fields or greenhouses, some companies are stacking and growing them in dark warehouses with UV lights. This method helps in conserving water and decreasing the time of harvesting. Such method can be used to grow crops year round in controlled environment, unlike traditional farming where production of crops is dependent on the natural climatic conditions. Growing crops indoors allow gaining fine control over the resources needed by crops and supplies predictable nutrient content. For instance, the UV lights or LEDs used in vertical farming can be turned up or down at will based on the amount of light needed for the crops. Also, these lights do not offer unwanted heating unlike old filament bulbs and can be kept closer to the plants for optimal light absorption. Based on the growing platform, the vertical farming market is segmented into buildings and shipping containers. Amongst these segments, latter is the most dominant and accounted for around 65% of the total revenue in 2021. Podponics, an advanced greenhouse company in Georgia, USA estimates that each shipping container produces same yield as an acre of traditional farmland. 

 

 

Based on the crop type, the popularly grown are greens, fruits and flowers, vine crops, strawberry, herbs, tomatoes, cannabis, and others. Leafy greens was the largest segment in 2021, in terms of revenue. This segment is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period as leafy greens are the major element in the food in every part of the world. 

 

Some of the leading companies operating in vertical farming market include AeroFarms, Brigth Farms, Infinite Harvest Inc., Gotham Greens Holdings LLC, Vertical Harvest Jackson, Home Town Farms, Metro Farms, Garden Fresh, Lufa Farms, and others.