An urban farmer grows vegetables in a Hong Kong skyscraper.

Gordon Tam, co-founder and CEO of vertical farming company Farm66, wants to show that technology-infused agriculture has a promising future in cities, deserts, also outer space.

In early February, residents of Hong Kong - Asia's financial hub of 7.4 million people - faced a shortage of fresh food. Shelves of vegetables and the like are empty in city supermarkets as strict Covid-19 controls at China's mainland border severely disrupt new food supplies.

More than 90% of skyscraper city food, especially fresh produce such as vegetables, is imported, mostly from mainland China. "During the pandemic, we are all aware that the productivity of locally grown vegetables is very low," said Gordon Tam, co-founder and CEO of Hong Kong Vertical Farming Company in Hong Kong. "The social impact is huge."

It is estimated that only about 1.5% of the city's vegetables are produced locally. But he believes that by using modern technologies such as internet sensors, LED lights, and robots, vertical farms like Farm66 can increase local food production in Hong Kong and export their knowledge to other cities. "Vertical farming is a good think because vegetables can be grown in cities," Tam said in an interview at the company's vertical farms in industrial estates. "We can grow our vegetables, so we don't depend on imports."

He said he founded Farm66 in 2013 with co-founder Billy Lam, the company's chief operating officer, as a high-tech pioneer in vertical farming in Hong Kong. "Our company is the first to use energy-efficient LED lighting and wavelength technology in agricultural fields," he said. "We found that different colors in the light spectrum help plants grow in different ways. It was our technological breakthrough." For example, red LED lights make stems grow faster, while blue LED lights encourage plants to develop larger leaves.