The vertical farm or vertical agriculture is the cultivation of plants inside multi-story buildings or skyscrapers, often called farmscrapers, derived from the English term skyscraper (that is, skyscrapers). In these buildings, which function as large greenhouses, technologies such as hydroponics or aeroponics are used to grow plants. Some designs include the practice of livestock farming (especially aquaculture on the lower floors, thus becoming aquaponic systems).

The concept was developed in 1999 by biologist Dickson Despommier") from Columbia University in New York, although there are antecedents such as a vision by physicist Cesare Marchetti") who in 1979 devised a similar concept[1]​ in article 10, published in response to the report The Limits to Growth. Media attention did not wait until 2007, when Lisa Chamberlain published an article on the subject in New York Magazine[2]​ and as a consequence, several American and European media covered the topic. Currently several cities are studying the construction of a farmscraper in the United States, Canada, South Korea, China and the Arab Emirates.

A large-scale introduction of this technology would allow the arable area to be multiplied with practically no surface area expenditure, which would allow other uses for soil crops.

In addition, defenders of the concept argue that transportation and logistics costs would be considerably reduced due to the fact that vertical farms would be located in direct proximity to consumers, thus reducing the number of intermediaries, which in turn would make the product cheaper.

As these are controlled environments with inert substrate, pesticides, herbicides, soil acidity correctors and other chemicals of that nature would no longer be necessary, which would make the product more ecological and economical.

According to Despommier, a 30-story vertical farm could feed more than 10,000 people.

There is no consensus among scientists whether the concept is viable or not: currently only properly scaled projects (i.e., of a sufficient size to reduce the individual cost of production to below the normal local selling price) seem viable.