But climate and non-climate stresses are impacting the four pillars of food security (availability, access, utilisation, and stability). This is particularly intense in China, which was already grappling with pressures on agricultural water and land use around the country.
But as Robert Montgomery, professor of wildlife ecology/conservation, notes the traditional approach to land use and population growth has been to look at the horizontal rather than potential for vertical development.
(Montgomery as head of the world’s first Conservation Venture Studio at University of Oxford in partnership with Global Accelerated Ventures and the university’s research commercialisation arm, Oxford University Innovation, is a partner for the next GCV Symposium in London on 3-4 November.)
As my colleague, Jordan Williams, covered yesterday, Infarm picked up $100m of debt and equity financing to develop its indoor farm systems.
Founded in 2013, Infarm uses cloud-enabled vertical farming technology to operate urban-based indoor farms that produce food more efficiently than traditional agricultural methods. It is planning to expand its production capabilities by building large scale farms expected to cover 500,000 square feet by 2025.
But asking the tough questions about how to develop and what for remains a challenge. Too often in conservation, land is ringfenced for a specific purpose rather than finding ways to blur or blend the requirements of people and nature.
Innovation remains a potential route out.
Corporate backed deals in Food & beverages 2011-21
