“If food security and the damage the conventional food supply chain does to the environment weren’t a priority before COVID, they absolutely are now,” says Johnathan Ransom, CEO of Square Mile Farms.
Autonomous growing systems in the UK have attracted funding from the Government’s Transforming Food Production programme and tens of millions are being invested in a new training and demonstration facility but can CEA help drive social change?
“There’s a skills shortage for protected cropping,” Jock explains. “We’re looking to create a vibrant protected cropping industry in the UK by licensing our large-scale vertical hydroponics facilities… and our customers will also require skilled operators to manage these facilities.”
Can we really feed 40,000 people with a ‘SkyFarm’? Or will everyone in London have a ‘Personal Food Computer’ by 2040? Provocative questions…