The thing to compare vertical farms to is their horizontal greenhouse equivalents which are also closed systems with very high levels of control and yield per l

The thing to compare vertical farms to is their horizontal greenhouse equivalents which are also closed systems with very high levels of control and yield per land area. Once you do that, the balance is basically between the greater capital and power costs of vertical farms vs being closer to urban markets. Transport is cheap so that never works out in favour of vertical. Also, developing countries with low agricultural yields would adopt technologies like drip irrigation, better fertiliser and pesticide management before greenhouses and greenhouse before vertical farms.