The Japanese firm Spread open in 2017 the first fully automated agricultural plant in the world, with robots in the whole process: from seed to harvest.

Spread, headquartered in Kyoto, explained that this plant will begin operating as usual mid 2017. Mechanization will allow, among other advances, producing 30,000 heads of lettuce a day, as noted on their website. The new automation technologies reduce labor costs by 50% and energy use by 30% and recycled water use by 98%. The farm, about 4,400 square meters, is the growing trend of vertical farming, where farmers grow indoors without natural sunlight. In addition to increasing production and reducing waste, vertical farming interior also eliminates the use of pesticides and herbicides, chemicals used in traditional agriculture outdoors can be harmful to the environment.