Indoor-grown wheat? Vertical farming boosts potential amid Black Sea Grain initiative renewal concerns

14 Nov 2022 --- As the Ukraine war demonstrates the over reliance on a few breadbaskets worldwide, one Dutch company is producing climate-resilient indoor-grown wheat that could unlock high yields and diversify options for industry.

The company grows wheat in an indoor farm using no soil, chemical pesticides and with reduced water use. 

The first trials by the business have yielded an output that is 26 times superior to open-field wheat farming yields – producing the equivalent of 117 metric tons per hectare when the average yield of wheat crops is 4.5 metric tons.

”To continue to feed the world’s growing population, we need to achieve higher crop yields which we have now proven to be possible for wheat through indoor, controlled environment agriculture,” says Guy Galonska, CTO and co-founder of Infarm.

“We are confident that wheat can be grown successfully at scale indoors as a climate-resilient alternative. Our record yield could potentially be increased by a further 50% in the coming years using a combination of improved genetics, hardware and optimized growth environments,” he continues.

Wheat prices have had a rollercoaster of a year as the Ukraine war paralyzed an important part of the cereal trade, at the start of the year, and the Black Sea Grain Initiative achieved to jump-start the commodity trade in July.

The food corridor deal that has offered a breather to global food inflation is set to expire on November 19, with both Ukraine and Russia currently working on an agreement to renew it.

With the Ukraine war, countries like Laos lost up to 98% of their wheat imports, the most affected countries coming from Africa – Eritrea, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo also source between 80% to 100% of their wheat from Africa. 

This prompted nations to scramble for alternatives, like local foods cassava or yam, with other countries opting to switch to rice. 

The food corridor deal that has offered a breather to global food inflation is set to expire this November 19.Targeting food security
The company explains how wheat provides a significant portion of the global caloric requirements, being also a significant source of protein.

Infarm highlights that wheat accounts for 40% of the daily protein intake in some regions. 

“Being able to grow wheat indoors is a milestone for Infarm and of significant importance for global food security, as wheat is a calorie-dense but resource-intense crop that is a core component of diets worldwide. We started Infarm to find new ways of producing food to feed the world’s growing population, and the results show that we are a big step closer to achieving this goal,” says Erez Galonska, CEO and co-founder.

Climate resilient, no indoor drought
Indoor farming is not bound to the externalities of climate change. The company highlights that in a world “beset by climate shocks that will likely worsen,” there is a necessity to create climate-resilient food production methods.

“We are now another step closer to feeding the world with indoor-farmed staple crops unaffected by the outdoor climate. To a reality where food production is no longer linked to biodiversity loss and doesn’t contribute to water source contamination,” underscores the business.

FAO’s forecast for world cereal production has been lowered by 4.9 million metric tons compared to last month. Reaching 50.8 million metric tons, or 1.8%, less than last year. While wheat production is forecast to reach a record 783.8 million metric tons – 0.6% above last year – only in October, production estimates were cut by 3.4 million metric tons.

Indoor wheat farming could prevent catastrophic crop failures, like the one in Pakistan, due to a cataclysmic monsoon in September.

“As many areas remain flooded in Pakistan, the sowing of the rabi winter wheat crop, which normally takes place between October and December, could be severely impeded,” explains FAO.

Wheat prices offset declining food pricesThe first trials by Infarm have yielded an output that is 26 times superior to open-field wheat farming yields.
In October, all commodities analyzed by FAO – cereals, vegetable oils, dairy, meat and sugar – went down in price month-over-month except cereal prices. A cereal prices monthly increment of 3% offset the positive trend for world food commodity prices entirely.

Uncertainty over the Black Sea Grain Initiative, tighter supplies and sluggish production in the US drove prices up. Furthermore, the food corridor in the Black Sea remains essential to rein in food inflation.

“Based on a stronger shipment pace until late October under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, expected higher wheat export prospects for Ukraine have lifted the global wheat trade forecast for 2022/23 (June/July) by 1.9 million metric tons this month. Nevertheless, now pegged at 194 million tons, FAO’s global wheat trade forecast still points to a 1% decline from the 2021/22 level,” explains FAO. 

Russia has called on the UN to not waste time renewing the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

“There is extremely little time left…our message to the UN representatives, so to speak, was that we should not waste time but should use every day to achieve meaningful results. It is all the more important that we work to ensure food security, and we are doing our job, but not paying lip service to it,” says Sergey Vershinin, Russian deputy foreign minister.

Ukraine’s deputy minister for infrastructure affirms in the same vein that the deal should have been extended by now and that they will give a clear signal to markets this week.

“Participants also remain engaged in the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and held constructive discussions on its continuation,” highlights the UN. 

By Marc Cervera