The Vilnius-based startup, Leafood, has raised €6.45 million in funding to build and operate a network of indoor vertical farms in Lithuania and the greater Baltic region, including Poland in partnership with YesHealth Group. The funding round was led by the founder of organic farm Farmer’s Circle and hospitality hub the Baltic Food Republic, alongside YesHeatlth Group.
As per the startup’s comments in recent media interactions, the vertical currently under construction in Vilnius (to be finished in Q1 2023) is a 4000m², within a 7150m² space, yielding over one-thousand kilograms of leafy vegetables per day, and it will be entirely powered by renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Read also: New HBCU Agribusiness Innovation Center at NC A&T State University
Valentinas Civinskas, founder and CEO of Leafood said: “We need to innovate and find new ways to farm healthy, sustainable food, year-round, locally and indoors. By developing a network of high-tech, indoor vertical farms, we are trying to solve this problem of food security for the Baltic region.”
The company claims the plants at these gardens will be fed on bio-fertilizers derived from natural ingredients such as soybeans and oyster shells. This will dramatically prolong the shelf life of salads and herbs, which will contribute to solving the local as well as the worldwide issue of food waste.
Read also: New Innovation Centre To Further UK Food Security
The company is also seeking to raise another €2 million from investors who share their mission of farming healthy, pesticide-free produce, through controlled-environment agriculture, for the Baltic marketplace.
1 Comment