Improving food security through indoor vertical farming of microgreens: a trendy fad or a promising solution? A review

Le résumé fourni par la source

Global food systems face unprecedented pressure from climate change, resource scarcity, and population growth, intensifying food insecurity and malnutrition, particularly in regions with limited agricultural capacity. Indoor vertical farming (IVF), a form of controlled-environment agriculture, has emerged as a promising strategy to enhance sustainable year-round food production through efficient use of natural resources. Within these systems, microgreens represent novel food crops characterized by high nutritional value, short growth cycles, and suitability for intensive production. This review discusses the potential of IVF for microgreen production, synthesizing current knowledge on cultivation strategies, technological developments, and precision agriculture approaches used to optimize growth conditions. The main technical, economic, and environmental challenges associated with these systems are also discussed, together with emerging solutions such as automation, renewable energy integration, and circular resource management. These aspects are supported by selected case studies of microgreen production in controlled environments. IVF-based microgreen production represents a promising pathway toward more sustainable urban food systems and improved nutritional security. Continued advances in lighting, automation, renewable energy integration, and circular resource management are expected to alleviate key environmental and economic constraints and support the scalability of these systems.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.