Assessing the Viability of Vertical Farming for Sustainable Business in Finnish Agriculture
Islam, Zahirul (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025121134816
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025121134816
Tiivistelmä
Vertical farming has gained increasing attention as a potential solution to the sustainability, resilience, and productivity challenges faced by modern food systems, particularly in northern countries with short growing seasons and high import dependency. This thesis examines the feasibility of vertical farming in Finland by analyzing its technological, environmental, and economic dimensions through real operational contexts. A qualitative multiple-case study design was employed, focusing on three Finnish initiatives: Seppälä Vertical Farm (educational), Robbe’s Little Garden (commercial), and LUKE High-Wire Crop Innovation (research-based). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, case documents, organizational publications, and secondary literature, and analyzed using thematic and cross-case analysis.
The findings indicate that vertical farming is technologically feasible in Finland, supported by reliable hydroponic systems, advanced LED lighting, and effective climate-control automation. Environmental performance is the strongest feasibility dimension, with substantial reductions in water use, land footprint, and pesticide dependency. However, high electricity demand—especially during winter—limits both environmental and economic outcomes. Economic feasibility remains the most challenging dimension: while premium leafy-green production demonstrates commercial viability, broader market scalability is hindered by high operating costs and Finland’s relatively small market size. Educational and research-oriented facilities show strong non-commercial feasibility by contributing to skills development and agritech innovation.
This thesis contributes new empirical evidence to the Finnish vertical-farming context by integrating feasibility analysis with sustainability and business-model perspectives across three contrasting case types. Over-all, the results suggest that vertical farming holds selective but meaningful potential in Finland, particularly when integrated with renewable energy, technological optimization, and targeted business strategies.
The findings indicate that vertical farming is technologically feasible in Finland, supported by reliable hydroponic systems, advanced LED lighting, and effective climate-control automation. Environmental performance is the strongest feasibility dimension, with substantial reductions in water use, land footprint, and pesticide dependency. However, high electricity demand—especially during winter—limits both environmental and economic outcomes. Economic feasibility remains the most challenging dimension: while premium leafy-green production demonstrates commercial viability, broader market scalability is hindered by high operating costs and Finland’s relatively small market size. Educational and research-oriented facilities show strong non-commercial feasibility by contributing to skills development and agritech innovation.
This thesis contributes new empirical evidence to the Finnish vertical-farming context by integrating feasibility analysis with sustainability and business-model perspectives across three contrasting case types. Over-all, the results suggest that vertical farming holds selective but meaningful potential in Finland, particularly when integrated with renewable energy, technological optimization, and targeted business strategies.