Vertical Future partners with Modi Fresh in India

Vertical Future partnered with Modi Fresh to bring its advanced vertical farming and crop science insights to the Indian market.

The partnership will see a joint venture established between the UK-based global vertical farming technology and data company and Modi Group’s India-based retail brand.

 The venture will develop, construct, own, and operate large-scale advanced vertical farming production facilities close to key population centres across India. The partnership will offer technology and production support to worthy and willing Indian growers. It will also result in a significant amount of scientific research and knowledge exchange focused on growing indigenous ‘staple’ crop varieties in Vertical Future’s systems.

Modi Fresh will be responsible for developing its consumer-facing brand as well as leveraging market experience to deliver access to local contractors/ vendors and regulatory approval. 

Co-founder and chief executive of Vertical Future, Jamie Burrows, said the company has been strengthening its presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and this partnership expands beyond this, into a key market that experiences similar challenges with food and water security, directly linked to climate change.

“This partnership with Modi Fresh is a further showcase of Vertical Future’s global presence and recognition of innovation in the sector, especially considering the challenging conditions that India presents for vertical farming,” said Burrows.

“Working with the Modi Group, we are excited to bring our vision for the future of agriculture to one of the world’s leading farming nations. In the coming decades, India faces a huge challenge from climate change, and its vibrant and educated population also present a huge opportunity – we are pleased to be able to play a part in the country’s sustainable growth in agri-tech segment.”

India is a country that is rich in agriculture but presents some of the biggest challenges and opportunities for the vertical farming and broader controlled-environment-agriculture (CEA) sectors.

There are already many hydroponic growers across India, however, the market has not yet been able to benefit from some of the advances in high-tech vertical farming due to factors such as a lack of electricity infrastructure, extremely low pricing, and an immature capital market for infrastructure deployment in CEA.

By using Vertical Future technologies and crop science expertise, Modi Fresh will be propagating the technology to worthy and willing Indian Growers and with the goal of managing and delivering higher-quality products with no chemicals and less waste, improving nutrition and sustainability, for local Indian consumers.

“Our decades of experience in many industries have shown us the importance of sustainability. India is a nation rich in agriculture, but it also faces many challenges – from energy stability through to crop quality,” said a spokesperson for Modi Group.

“Working with Vertical Future – a leader in the global vertical farming industry – will help Modi Fresh to reach our end goals faster and more efficiently. I’m very confident in Vertical Future and everything that Jamie and his team have built.”