Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** there is a need for adoption of…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** there is a need for adoption of resilient food systems, reduce food wastes, and strengthen the food production in urban areas to address the issue of expansion of global population and limited availability of arable land. Sustainability and space maximization are critical at urban settings, which call for the development of efficient cultivation practices integrating modern technology into the traditional practices for urban agriculture (UA). The smart farming (SF) at the university of maryland eastern shore (UMES) has facilitated the integration of robotic farming technologies (FARMBOTS) in integrated, multidisciplinary research, and educational endeavors. As an expansion of SF, isurf's (indoor sustainable urban robotic farming) goal and objectives are to study the impacts of horticultural, social, and economic factors contributing to successful urban, indoor, sustainable agricultural production systems with emerging technology. Horticultural factors will include the impacts of harvested rainwater and biostimulants on the morphological and phytochemical characteristics of selected crops (beets, carrots, spinach). Social factors will focus on the impacts of education and training on indoor robotic agriculture for bipoc farmers, educators, youth, and including those from the rappahannock tribe of VA. Community well-being, employment opportunities, enhanced job skills for the youth, and a productive UMES-rappahannock partnership in sustainable agriculture will reflect social impacts. The economic factors will encompass market analysis of produce; surveys of possible adoption of the indoor farming technology by stakeholders, and economic viability of the technology. The isurf project holds promise to advance discovery and learning in sustainable, accessible agriculture with a strong component of extension.