I've seen a decent number of agricultural areas where the crops are covered with a vast mesh tent supported by a wood or metal framework. Lets sunlight in, keep

I've seen a decent number of agricultural areas where the crops are covered with a vast mesh tent supported by a wood or metal framework. Lets sunlight in, keeps insects out. That seems a lot more economical than building a vertical farm in most countries. There are edge cases where the technology developed for vertical farms seems very useful: densely-populated, small countries; space stations, and off-world colonies. But for most of Earth? Look at how much of the US is farmland, and then imagine how many expensive towers and associated infrastructure you'd need to replace it.