Vertical farms are designed in a way to avoid the pressing issues about growing food crops in drought-and-disease-prone fields miles away from the population centers in which they will be consumed.
Now, the United Nations predicts vertical farming is key to feed a global population that is quickly urbanizing fast: 86 per cent of the people in the developed world will live in cities by 2050. Although there are still challenges to be addressed in vertical farming and as long as farmers are careful to protect their indoor “fields” from pests, this method needs no herbicides or insecticides. They also conserve water far better than earthbound farming.
via Vertical farms sprouting all over the world | New Scientist