Growing Food, Growing Cities: Lufa Farms’ Vision for Urban Agriculture
Lufa Farms has been shaping urban agriculture since 2011, when it built the world’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse in Montreal. Now with over 500,000 square feet of growing space, the company is working to integrate sustainable farming into urban communities. In this month’s CEA Q&A, Chief of Staff (and Indoor Ag-Con 2025 speaker!) Rachael Warner shares lessons learned from scaling urban agriculture, the impact of new technologies, and the future of rooftop farming.
Urban Ag at Scale:
Lufa Farms has grown significantly, from the first rooftop greenhouse to multiple large-scale facilities. What lessons have you learned about scaling urban agriculture while staying true to your mission?
Our journey began with the world’s first commercial rooftop greenhouse in 2011, spanning 31,000 square feet. This step allowed us to grow food sustainably where people live. Over time, we recognized that to build a truly sustainable and profitable business, scaling up was essential. Fifteen years later, with over 500,000 square feet of growing space, we’ve significantly increased efficiency. With each new greenhouse, we’ve incorporated cutting-edge technologies like LED lights, diffused glass, and Ultra-Clima growing systems. These innovations have enabled us to scale while staying true to our mission of providing local, fresh, and pesticide-free produce for the city.
Indoor Farming Milestone:
In 2023, you introduced your first-ever indoor farm alongside your rooftop greenhouses. What prompted this diversification, and how does it complement your rooftop farming model?
Our indoor farm was an exciting venture born out of opportunity when we were offered unused space in the building that was housing our greenhouse and distribution center. It allowed us to optimize that space and take on a new challenge and type of farm that, to our knowledge, doesn’t exist anywhere else. The indoor farm mirrors the single-level NFT channel system used in our Anjou greenhouse but has a much greater capacity. Its capacity is remarkable, producing up to 20,000 units of vegetables daily. While it has presented challenges, it has been an incredible learning journey, thanks to our team’s dedication to improving production quality.
Technology and Innovation:
Your latest rooftop greenhouse boasts a 40% increase in vegetable yields thanks to advanced technology. Can you share some key innovations behind this leap in efficiency, and how do you see technology shaping the future of controlled environment agriculture?
Our newest rooftop greenhouse is our most technologically advanced yet, designed to grow more food with fewer resources. Using the Ultra-Clima concept, we’ve implemented high-intensity LED lights, insulated double-paned glass, a diffused glass roof, and double curtains. These innovations have allowed us to optimize energy use, maintain precise environmental controls, and significantly increase our production yields. We believe technology is the future of agriculture, enabling us to grow sustainably with less land, energy, water, and waste while ensuring urban farms remain efficient and scalable.
Marketplace Partnerships:
In addition to growing your own produce, Lufa Farms collaborates with local farmers and food makers to offer thousands of products through your online marketplace. How has this approach expanded your impact and redefined what urban farming can achieve?
While our greenhouses provide a wide variety of fresh produce, our partnerships with over 400 local farmers and food makers allow us to offer nearly everything you’d find in a neighborhood grocery store – eggs, cheese, flour, crackers, wine, and more. These collaborations help us expand our impact, connecting customers to fresh, local, and responsibly sourced food. By combining our urban farming model with a robust network of like-minded partners, we’ve reworked urban agriculture’s role, proving it can be a comprehensive solution for sustainable, city-based food systems.
Vision for the Future:
Your vision is a city of rooftop farms. What are the next steps to make this vision a reality, and how do you envision the role of urban farming evolving in cities around the world?
Our vision is bold: to scale up and ultimately serve 10% of the Montreal population and create a replicable system in other cities around the world. We want rooftop greenhouses to become a standard feature of urban development and a no-brainer for sustainable city planning. By integrating greenhouses into cities, we aim to transform urban areas into self-sufficient ecosystems. This approach brings fresh, local, and sustainable food closer to communities while showcasing how agricultural innovation can address global food security challenges. Urban farming has the potential to reshape cities, creating greener, healthier environments and a more resilient food system for the future.
Learn more about Lufa Farms here.
And join us at Indoor Ag-Con March 11-12, 2025 to hear Rachael Warner as she joins other panelists for the session: Water Wise: Maximizing Water Quality For Maximum Yields, on Tuesday , March 11, 2025 from 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM PST
