Dubai will get the world’s largest vertical farm. This is an Indoor farm and is a $40 million venture among Crop One Holdings and Emirates Flight Catering, who say it’s a way of producing pesticide-free crops along with using a fraction of the water that traditional farming does.

This will feed passengers of Emirates and other airlines at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport. This is to be built near the airport, eliminating trucking costs and emissions.

Will also be feeding a growing global population – which could reach 9.1 billion by 2050 – world food production will need to rise by 70%. In addition to those who will be living in cities, and will likely want to source our food locally.

Vertical farms offer a viable solution as this type of farming doesn’t need soil. The plants are stacked on top of each other in rows, their roots immersed in nutrient-rich water. This system is called hydroponics uses 99% less water than field farming. And unlike the other plants, this one sits under LED lights which drive their photosynthesis.

The growing conditions are controlled digitally. The temperature, humidity, light, water and plant nutrients are all monitored by a computer, which constantly adjusts the levels according to what the plants need.

These farms can be set up anywhere, as long as there’s a source of electricity and access to distilled water. In the future, we might also see these farms on offshore oil and gas exploration facilities and in extreme climates.

In the new Dubai facility, the plants are stacked together four or five storey high over 130,000 square feet (12,077 square meters). That is optimum space to grow greens for the 225,000 meals that Emirates Flight Catering produce daily.

Hopefully the success of this project will encourage more players in the industry to set up these farms at more and more places, as they can easily acclimatize with any environment.