Sprout Stack: the only way to grow is up

Experts claim that by 2050, there will be almost 10 billion people in the world to feed. Here in Australia, our rapidly growing, increasingly urban population is already putting mounting pressure on farmers and the resources they rely upon. It’s clear we need to think about new, smarter and more efficient ways to produce nutritious food. Australian agtech start-up Sprout Stack has been doing just that. It produces “hyperlocal”, clean and green mixed salads and micro-herbs out of Australia’s first and only commercial-scale vertical farm.

As well as saving water and reducing the use of chemicals, the aim of vertical farming is to make farming in urban environments possible, and to grow food in close proximity to the market that eats it. It’s food for locals, by locals, which we know makes it far more nutritious. It’s also much kinder to the environment.

In the video below, I visit Sprout Stack, based in Brookvale on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, to get a closer look into how it grows its produce year-round in recycled shipping containers. For more on Sprout Stack, you can check out our feature about the business and how it operates. You can also visit the Sprout Stack website.