Going green: Harvest London set to build ‘vertical farm’ in the Croydon suburbs
A LISTED investment manager has injected funds into vertical farming firm Harvest London to build a cutting-edge site near Croydon.
Harvest has built two farms in the capital so far and partnered with brands including Pizza Pilgrims to deliver locally-grown produce with minimal environmental impact.
Harvest has secured investment from Foresight to build a 140,000 square foot unit in Beddington which it says will allow to “expand its current operations, enabling it to supply a range of salads and herbs to customers in London and beyond.
The firm has been operating a working east London firm for three years.
“Vertical farming is a technology that can complement British agriculture, helping us reduce our reliance on food imports, and give consumers fresher, more local ingredients.
“We want to make the UK a world-leader in this exciting new industry,” Harvest’s founder Chris Davies said today.
Foresight manages around £1.4bn-worth of assets and invests in sustainable infrastructure.
Harvest London’s indoor vertical farming approach delivers crops all year round of a consistently high
quality, using no chemical pesticides, significantly reducing amount of fertiliser needed, avoiding
agricultural pollution of rivers, and dramatically shortening supply chains.
This reduces the emissions from the transportation, processing, and refrigeration of food, and also increase shelf life, reducing waste. Vertical farms are controlled environments which help to reduce negative environmental impacts while improving productivity per square metre compared to traditional agriculture, strengthening food security in the UK.