Vertical Farming World Congress 2026
Event Programme
Bringing together vertical farming operators, investors, suppliers and customers, the 7th annual Vertical Farming World Congress is designed to help develop and advance the sector’s future. It is the most substantial dedicated event of the year, featuring two days of conference sessions, networking with key industry figures.
Discover this years speakers
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Tuesday
9:00 am
MARKET INSIGHTS AND OUTLOOK
Welcome address: fulfilling the initial promise
Speaker to be announced
9:15 am
MARKET INSIGHTS AND OUTLOOK
Lessons from experience of plant factories
Dr Eri Hayashi, President of Japan Plant Factory Association
9:30 am
MARKET INSIGHTS AND OUTLOOK
Back to the future for the North American market
Tisha Livingston, Chief Executive of Infinite Acres, Netherlands and President of 80 Acres Farms, United States
9:45 am
MARKET INSIGHTS AND OUTLOOK
Navigating the potential with the investment community
Peter Bachmann, Managing Director – Sustainable Infrastructure for Gresham House, United Kingdom
10:00 am
MARKET INSIGHTS AND OUTLOOK
Discussion panel joined by
Rebekka Boekhout, Founder of Phyto by RCB and Co-founder of Vertical Farm Daily, Netherlands
10:30 am
NETWORKING BREAK
Refreshments and networking
11:00 am
STRATEGIC CHOICES
Lower costs vs premium branding
Speaker to be announced
11:15 am
STRATEGIC CHOICES
Shift from supply led to demand led
Roel Janssen, Chief Business Officer of Planet Farms, Italy
11:30 am
STRATEGIC CHOICES
Powered by AI, robotics and automation
Speaker to be announced
11:45 am
STRATEGIC CHOICES
Premium ingredients for fine dining
Speaker to be announced
12:00 pm
STRATEGIC CHOICES
Cultivating 300 crop varieties
Speaker to be announced
12:15 pm
STRATEGIC CHOICES
Questions and discussion
12:45 pm
NETWORKING BREAK
Lunch and networking
2:00 pm
HYBRID OPPORTUNITIES
Adding natural light by rotation for strawberries
Speaker to be announced
2:15 pm
HYBRID OPPORTUNITIES
Combining the best of greenhouses with vertical farming
Speaker to be announced
2:30 pm
HYBRID OPPORTUNITIES
New growing models for premium fruits and vegetables
Speaker to be announced
2:45 pm
HYBRID OPPORTUNITIES
Questions and discussion
3:00 pm
HYBRID OPPORTUNITIES
Refreshments and networking
3:30 pm
WORLD TOUR
Renewable energy, reusable packaging
Cristián Sjögrens, Founder of AgroUrbana, Chile
3:45 pm
WORLD TOUR
Transforming urban spaces
Speaker to be announced
4:00 pm
WORLD TOUR
Modular farms for community benefit
Speaker to be announced
4:15 pm
WORLD TOUR
From technology first to operational realism
Speaker to be announced
4:30 pm
WORLD TOUR
End to end automation
Speaker to be announced
4:45 pm
WORLD TOUR
Questions and discussion
5:15 pm
Close
7:00 pm
GALA INDUSTRY DINNER
Cocktail drinks reception
7:30 pm
GALA INDUSTRY DINNER
Gala Industry Dinner
10:00 pm
Close
Wednesday
9:00 am
CROP DEVELOPMENTS
Sweet strawberry success
Dr Kashif Riaz, Agronomy Director for Production Lareault, Canada
9:15 am
CROP DEVELOPMENTS
Fresh mushrooms for supermarkets
Elliot Webb, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Urban Farm-Produce, United Kingdom
9:30 am
CROP DEVELOPMENTS
Growing saffron and medicinal botanicals
Speaker to be announced
9:45 am
CROP DEVELOPMENTS
Growing saplings in containers
Aigars Jacuks, Chief Operating Officer of Carbon Less Future, Latvia
10:00 am
CROP DEVELOPMENTS
Precision breeding of dwarf tomatoes
Matt Chlebek, Founder and Chief Agronomist of Harvest London, United Kingdom
10:15 am
CROP DEVELOPMENTS
Questions and discussion
10:30 am
CROP DEVELOPMENTS
Refreshments and networking
11:00 am
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
Improving productivity through irrigation
Erik Lundgren, Co-founder and Chief Research & Development Officer of Ljusgårda, Sweden
11:15 am
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
Advancing fermentation and extrusion processing for mushrooms
Speaker to be announced
11:30 am
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
First vertical farm powered by modular reactor
Speaker to be announced
11:45 am
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
Electro-agriculture in near total darkness
Speaker to be announced
12:00 pm
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
Harvesting fodder in just 7 days
Speaker to be announced
12:15 pm
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
Questions and discussion
12:30 pm
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENTS
Lunch and networking
1:30 pm
Close
3:00 pm
VERTICAL FARM VISITS
Visit to Harvest London