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The vertical farming industry continues to gain momentum, attracting significant interest and investments. Agricola Moderna, a company specializing in vertical agriculture, has partnered with Azimut’s Infrastructure for Growth (Ipc – Infrastrutture per la Crescita – Esg) fund to invest approximately €24 million in a state-of-the-art vertical farm.
Under this partnership, the Ipc fund, dedicated to investments in social infrastructure, will contribute around €15 million to construct a modern vertical farm, which will be leased to the operational company Agricola Moderna srl. About €11.5 million of this investment will be dedicated to the infrastructure, and the remaining funds will be invested in Agricola Moderna’s equity, with the company itself contributing approximately €13 million to the plant’s technology.
The vertical farm is scheduled to be built in the municipality of Agnadello, in the province of Cremona, and is expected to be operational by September 2024. Spanning an impressive total cultivation area of 11,000 square meters on multiple levels, the farm will produce over 900 tons of leafy vegetables annually, including salads, baby greens, and teen leaf, all ready for consumption.
This cutting-edge facility will leverage controlled environments, entirely eliminating the need for chemical pesticides and herbicides while saving up to 95% of water and soil compared to traditional intensive farming methods. According to Agricola Moderna, if the same quantities were produced using conventional farming techniques, it would require 30 hectares of agricultural land and approximately 180 million liters of water per year.
Pierluigi Giuliani and Benjamin Franchetti, co-founders of Agricola Moderna, expressed their enthusiasm for the investment: “The Ipc Fund’s investment in Agricola Moderna’s capital is a crucial step for our future. Our goal is to create a model company with sustainable and innovative growth, generating value for all stakeholders.”
Having originated in Milan in 2018, Agricola Moderna has been distributing its products throughout Lombardy via specialized e-commerce platforms and GDO (Grande Distribuzione Organizzata) since 2020. The company has ambitious plans for the future, with additional investments already in the pipeline for the construction of more vertical agriculture facilities both in Italy and across Europe.
The thriving vertical farming sector has witnessed numerous investments in recent years, demonstrating its growth potential. For instance, the Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market (Ismea) recently increased its capital and provided a convertible bond loan to Kilometro Verde, an enterprise founded by Giuseppe Battagliola. Siemens, the German multinational conglomerate, has also formed a strategic alliance with 80 Acres Farms. Moreover, in October last year, Planet Farms, a vertical farm, was inaugurated at the headquarters of the three-Michelin-starred restaurant Da Vittorio in Brusaporto.
