Qatar-based startup VFarms has cultivated iceberg lettuce heads weighing over 600 grams, nearly quadruple the standard weight typically achieved in vertical farms worldwide.
The breakthrough was achieved under some of the harshest growing conditions on earth, with external temperatures exceeding 50°C and extreme humidity. “The task was not just to grow lettuce, because somehow everyone can grow lettuce,” said Kirill Igoshin, CEO of VFarms. “The task was to grow lettuce that nobody has grown before in the world.”
From crisis to innovation
Founded in 2021 in response to Qatar’s food security challenges following the 2017 Gulf blockade, VFarms set out to build local agricultural resilience through climate-adapted vertical farming systems.
The project was based on mobile container farms powered by solar panels and atmospheric water generators, which harvest water directly from the air, making the system fully off-grid…
