In Vertical Farming, the Sky's the Limit

Kitovu Technology is a social enterprise that aims to use data and technology to help farmers in Nigeria increase their crop yields and access new markets. Since 2017, the company has trained over 300 agents to work with about 12,000 farmers on using the mobile app to track their progress. The company also partnered with the government on a pilot program to introduce an electronic warehouse system to allow farmers to store their grains.

An organic seed farm provides free education to Lebanese farmers on transitioning away from chemical pesticides and fertilizers into agroecology. The farm, called Buzuruna Juzuruna, is creating a network across the country and runs an heirloom seed cooperative with over 300 varieties of seeds to share for free.

Venture capitalists are increasingly interested in investing in indoor vertical farms as a way to combat supply chain disruptions and grow crop yields in a changing climate. A number of these farms are opening in the coming years throughout the United States and the industry is expected to grow to $9.7 billion worldwide by 2026. However, running an indoor vertical farm does have some technological limits and can result in high energy costs.

The rapid development of emerging economies across Asia and Africa is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty - but there is much debate as to how to best structure this growth. If these economies evolve in the same way as in the West - with unchecked, excessive resource consumption and heavy pollution - the planet may be on the fast track to disaster. Earthrise explores how these nations can grow sustainably using improved, eco-conscious technologies like renewable energy and eco-friendly farming practices.

More than 30-meters below the busy London streets, there is an eco-farm called Growing Underground that's part innovative agri-tech project and part sci-fi inspired netherworld. Created to provide increased food security and combat the environmental degradation caused by mass agriculture, this self-contained, zero-emissions, fully functioning farm provides an exciting opportunity as the world's population grows and food demands increase.

At the Fujitsu factory in Japan, a significant decline in demand for semiconductor computer chips meant the company had large empty factory space sitting unused. A new business approach allowed them to dually address both the need to evolve their business model with a global decline of viable agricultural space needed to grow the world's food. Now, the factory houses indoor vegetable gardens, soil free and less resource-heavy than traditional farmland.

Female farmers in India are leading the transition to natural farming. They improve soil and plant health by using indigenous seeds and not using chemicals or pesticides. The practice increases yields and decreases costs.

Farmers in Iowa created mobile barns and use a stock cropping method of raising livestock between rows of cash crops on a yearly rotation. This new equipment and growing method reduce water pollution and improve soil health because the animals leave behind just enough nutrients to fertilize the crops the following season.

With the help of community projects and organizations, farmers in Bikita, Zimbabwe, are transitioning back to growing traditional small grains after hybrid maize crops led to disappointing results.

The “one cow per poor family” initiative in Rwanda seeks to increase household income and fight malnutrition by giving families a cow to raise. Once the cow gives birth, the calf is given to another family to raise, keeping the process going. Since the program started in 2006, a total of 341,065 cows have been distributed and residents say it has improved their livelihoods.