With the world’s population set to rise to around 9.8 billion by 2050, it is thought that global food production must increase by around 70% to ensure food stays on everybody’s table. At the same time, we are already losing traditional farmland at an alarming rate mostly because of pollution and climate change.
UK based Agri-tech manufacturer Vertically Urban and global tech leader Microsoft both believe that Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), not only has the power to play a pivotal role in ensuring food security for future generations but believe they can bring about significant improvements in the efficiency and quality of the process.
The two companies are working together to develop Vertically Urban’s AI-based CEA control platform HORISS. The aim of HORISS is for it to be an intelligent control system that autonomously monitors and reacts to environmental and physical changes within the growing area, ensuring crops are grown to exact specification, using precisely the resources required.
Andrew Littler, Vertically Urban’s CEO, sat down recently with Jens Hansen, General Manager (EMEA) of Data & AI at Microsoft, to discuss Microsoft’s partnership with Vertically Urban and how AI has the power to accelerate the new farming revolution in controlled environment agriculture and secure adequate food supplies for future generations. Read the full interview here.