The Finnish technology startup iFarm recently筹集了400万美元为欧洲和中东的更多客户建造垂直农场。IFARM使用这些资金，旨在帮助企业家和企业在任何地方设立自己的城市农场。
ifarm, founded in 2017, develops autonomous farming systems to grow greens, berries, and edible flowers indoors. It sells smaller, individual growing modules, as well as vertical farms for larger-scale production.
Most urban farming companies do one of two things: grow and sell their own food or manufacture technology to assist experienced farmers, such as LED lights and robots that can monitor and harvest produce.
ifarmfalls into a third, less common category. Rather than standalone technology, the company sells entire urban farming systems with built-in robotics. These systems enable customers to start farms with little to no knowledge of agriculture.
ifarm’s growing module,ifarm cropper，专为杂货店，餐馆或房屋而设计。他们的vertical farmsare intended for larger spaces, like warehouses. These systems are equipped with无人机和artificial intelligencethat spot diseases and track plant growth. They can also be controlled by an app,ifarmGrowtune，这会自动种植种子并调节照明和湿度。
Kirill Zelenski, the Managing Director of Europe at iFarm, tells Food Tank that the company’s name is reminiscent of the iPhone. With an iPhone, he says, “you don’t need to know anything… You just need to know what you want to do, and it will do it itself. Same with our farms.” He explains that a customer simply has to push a button to grow arugula, and the system knows what to do.
城市农业公司拥有几种生态，经济和健康益处。例如，IFARM的技术使用90 percent less water和75 percent less fertilizer compared to conventional farms, and no pesticides.
城市农场内部的受控气候减少了空气和水污染的风险，同时允许更可靠的收益率。ifarm报告100％的of their seeds sprout.
Indoor farms can also exist anywhere. The urban farming companySquare Roots, for example, grows greens in the heart of Brooklyn. This flexibility cuts down on land use—which is越来越稀疏- 改善城市地区获得新鲜食品的机会。
Ifarm的创始人Alex Lyskovsky决定出于这个原因决定创办公司：他在西伯利亚的家乡无法获得新鲜食品。Zelenski说，现在，由于Ifarm，我可以成长，例如，我可以在西西里岛种植，例如它们会成长。”
Zelenski imagines a world where proximity to farmland no longer dictates where people reside. “Our idea is that it will change the world and how people are living. Because of the possibility to build farms in every house, you can live wherever,” Zelenski tells Food Tank.
Zelinski认为，自动农业公司（尤其是那些销售已有编程系统的农业公司）具有从根本上重塑该行业的潜力。正如他所说的“现代农民”，不一定需要知道如何耕种。
但是，有缺点。Zelenski指出，IFARM的无人机每月减少800小时的劳动需求，这可以提高效率并为农场所有者节省资金，但也可以威胁工作安全for farm workers.
Ifarm并不是唯一出售城市农场的公司。总部位于曼哈顿农场offers everything from single-plant hydroponic units to entire vertical farming setups.infarm，总部位于柏林，将其模块化设置安装在杂货店中。和公司喜欢的公司Agrilution,Rise Gardens， 和Aspara出售家庭水培系统。
As for iFarm, the company plans to put half of its recent funding towards scaling up in Europe and the Middle East, 30 percent into research and development, and the remaining 20 percent into internal management and hiring.
The company plans to leave a big mark on the agriculture industry. “We think our technology will change not just [farmers’] work, it will change the world totally,” Zelenski tells Food Tank. “Our idea totally disrupts the industry.”
