4 trends shaping the future of urban agri

Editor's Note: This post is a follow-up to Agritecture's posts on the "10 New Trends In Hydroponics: What To Expect In 2017 And Beyond" and "10 New Trends In CEA In 2021 And Beyond." The following list details some of the Agritecture team's insights on the coming year related to future food security and agricultural production. 

Here are our top predictions:

#1: CEA Hype will start to balance out.

There is no doubt that vertical farming and greenhouse growing will be essential farming methods for the next generation of growers. With the industry maturing, we've seen some major financing rounds and acquisitions over the past year (Cox Enterprises' acquisition of BrightFarms, and Kalera's acquisition of &ever, to name a few), alongside the closing of the largest CEA fund ever by Equilibrium Capital.

However, there seems to be a sense that the vertical farming industry has received an excessive amount of hype relative to its current size and impact. According to the 2021 Global CEA Census, 70% of CEA operators believe the industry has been susceptible to excessive greenwashing.

In his recent AgFunder article, Henry Gordon-Smith, Founder & CEO of Agritecture, shared that "it's safe to say we have passed the Peak of Inflated Expectations," "what comes next is a period of depression and correction." As part of this correction, and to build trust over hype in the industry, Agritecture has launched a CEA Sustainability Communications Guide. The guide intends to help consumers more effectively interpret sustainability-related claims and help operators communicate about sustainability in a more effective and honest way.

#2: More cities will push urban agriculture policy initiatives forward.

As has been long demanded by advocates in cities around the world, city officials are beginning to prioritize urban agriculture policy initiatives. In October 2021, New York City announced that it would establish an urban agriculture office and an urban agriculture advisory board. In an exclusive interview with Agritecture, New York City Council Member Ben Kallos shared that "people doing the work in urban agriculture haven't felt like they had a seat at the table. This [the office and advisory board] will give them that seat at the table that will give them access to city policy."

Agritecture's Director Digital Strategy, Ricky Stephens, reflects that "as we've seen from working with entrepreneurs and city officials around the country, having just one individual within a mayor's office whose job it is to look out for the best interests of urban farmers, while striving toward measurable long-term outcomes, is a win for both the city and the wellbeing of residents. Trust gets built, partnerships get formed, jobs get created, and the huge gap between the supply of and demand for fresh food gets diminished."

Continue reading on Agritecture.

Photo caption: The Vegetable Co. in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, growing vegetables under LED lights in a shipping container; image credit: Ian Teh for The New York Times

Source: Agritecture