2023-07-22 14:30:02
The urban farm installed on the roofs of the Porte de Versailles exhibition center, in Paris, on September 9, 2020. CORENTIN FOHLEN / DIVERGENCE
In 2021, excitement was at its height around urban farm projects. Start-ups flourished in France and Europe, watered by a flood of capital. Two years later, the landscape has changed a lot. Investors pulled the rug out from under the seedlings, mown before they reached maturity.
Read also: Article reserved for our Agricool subscribers, the start-up that grows strawberries and salads in containers
At the end of June, it was the turn of Agripolis to be placed in compulsory liquidation with continuation of activity. A fall which occurred after those of Agricool and Sous les fraises, in 2022. As for the German pioneer Infarm, it simply drew a line under four international establishments, including France. Without forgetting Jungle, in search of financing, which hoped to complete a new funding round in June, and had to postpone the deadline until the end of the year.
“The situation is particularly complex for urban farms, some stop, others question their model. The period is not very good for this ecosystem », analyzes Matthieu Vincent, from the DigitalFoodLab research firm. It should be noted that the term “urban farms” encompasses various approaches. Whether it is the establishment of crops on the roofs of buildings, companies, even in basements – an approach qualified as urban agriculture – or the installation of vertical farms, from the small model to the giant factory, guarantee of production in a controlled environment with a very technological substrate.
“Investors demand profitability”
The vertical farm model is the most financially demanding, due to the necessary investment in sophisticated equipment. Thus, Infarm had raised 200 million dollars (178 million euros) in 2021, after a previous funding round of 170 million dollars, a year earlier. The challenge: to develop internationally.
Agricool, whose engineers had designed a process for producing strawberries in containers equipped and lit by LEDs, had, for its part, collected 35 million euros. Guillaume Fourdinier, its founder, then dreamed of rebuilding the market garden belt around Paris.
Also read: A 14,000 m² urban farm, the largest in Europe, will open in Paris in 2020
Jungle, with its 42 million euros in its pocket, has built a giant vertical farm in Château-Thierry (Aisne), in a former William Saurin warehouse, to produce basil, parsley or arugula, but also plants for perfumery.
“In 2020-2021, investors favored fast-growing projects, now they demand profitability”, emphasizes Mr. Vincent. A very destabilizing about-face, especially since these companies have suffered, in quick succession, the vagaries linked to Covid-19, then the sudden rise in the price of energy. Not to mention that the models had to be invented. “In urban agriculture, we are all different. We have the impression of clearing a profession that does not exist”, testifies Amela du Bessey, co-founder of BienElevées, a start-up producing saffron on roof terraces.
You have 57.24% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.
#urban #farms #struggling #grow #France #Europe