Vertical farming in former Bradford and Sheffield mills could help with food shortages - Dr Kamran Mahroof

Supermarkets including Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Tesco, have placed limits on items such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, due to supply shortages in Europe and north Africa.

The disruption, caused by adverse weather conditions particularly in Morocco and Spain, could last a month.

The UK has always relied upon warmer countries to supply fruit and veg, particularly during our winter months when we can’t grow those items here.

In fact, around 95 per cent of our tomatoes and 90 per cent of our lettuces, arrives from North Africa and Europe during the winter.

We’ve had weather disruptions before, but growers, particularly in the UK and the Netherlands have previously been able to forecast these events and increase their own production.

In the last few years though, it’s become harder to mitigate. Firstly, Brexit has removed a lot of financial support from farmers, and secondly, the Ukraine war has resulted in spiralling energy costs, which farmers have not been given any help with.

It’s more vital than ever, then, that we look to long-term solutions to enable the UK to feed itself and, while there is no silver bullet, I believe vertical farming may play a key role in the future of farming. Vertical farms are essentially modernised greenhouses where crops are grown and stacked on top of each other in tall buildings, instead of in traditional rows in a field or greenhouse, resulting in far larger yields.

You can grow spinach, cucumbers, basil, tomatoes … all under controlled environments that won’t be susceptible to changes in the weather.

In Dubai, the world’s largest vertical farm at 330,000 sqft produces more than 1,000,000kg of leafy greens every year, and claims to use 95 per cent less water than conventional agriculture. It provides Emirates airlines, amongst the world’s largest catering operations, with its vegetables.

Growing vegetables in this way is far cleaner. The most common method is hydroponics, in which the plants sit in a nutrient-rich water, rather than soil, therefore eliminating soil-borne pathogens and the need to combat them.

A widescale expansion of vertical farming would be kinder on the environment in lowering our air and freight miles, therefore significantly reducing our carbon emissions.

Soil health is important for biodiversity and something the Government is concerned with. Farmers are already incentivised to manage their land in a more sustainable way. So, disturbing fewer fields for agriculture would encourage biodiversity and the wider ecosystem.

Where would these vertical farms go, you might ask?

Places like Bradford and Sheffield, which once enjoyed thriving textiles and steel industries may be ideal locations, with plenty of disused mills and buildings that could provide an ideal place for vertical farming.

Dr Kamran Mahroof, Associate Professor at the University of Bradford, is a supply chain expert.