VERTICAL FARMING

It’s no longer news that the world’s population is growing at a faster rate than our ability to feed it. In the next thirty years, the resources available will not be enough to feed the population. This is because we're losing arable lands every day to industrialization. In 2015, it was recorded that the earth lost one-third of its arable land. We don’t know how much we are going to lose in the next 45 years.

The high increase in the demand for food and the growing population as well as the continuous decrease in arable lands poses a great challenge to us. Many solutions have been proposed- vertical farming amongst them. The million-dollar question is: is vertical Farming the solution to this? Let's find out:

What Is Vertical Farming?

Vertical Agriculture is simply growing crops in vertically stacked crates. It is different from traditional outdoor farming in the sense that crops are grown indoors in vertical stacks, layer on layer. Using light sources other than natural illumination such as LEDs to provide UV light for crop growth, water mist or drip irrigation for constant water supply, full-year high yields can be achieved with full control of environmental factors.

Ordinary consumers may be slightly unfamiliar with the term “vertical agriculture”, but the concept of vertical agriculture is now one of the most favored agricultural technologies in many developed countries, and one of the hottest investment areas.

Differences Between Vertical Agriculture And Conventional Agriculture

It takes 30 to 40 days for the field to grow vegetables and 10 to 12 days for vertical farming. More importantly, vertical agriculture requires a substantial reduction of 95 per cent in water consumption compared to traditional agriculture, which is significant for many desert countries.

However, because of the need for a continuous supply of electricity to power the various technologies such as air conditioning and LED lamps and automatic irrigation systems, a large amount of energy is consumed.

Let's talk about the advantages of Vertical Agriculture

Advantages of Vertical
Agriculture

• Weather Independent:
  Vertical Agriculture is not affected by adverse weather. As earlier mentioned, vertical agriculture is growing crops in vertically stacked crates-indoors. So it isn't affected by the weather conditions. The survival of crops grown with this method are completely independent of the prevailing weather conditions. In essence, you can cultivate crops without having to bother about adverse weather conditions
• Maximum Output:
  The major goal of this farming technique is to maximize the outcome of crops in a tiny or compressed space.
• It uses less amount of water:
  Another unique advantage of Vertical Agriculture is that it uses less water. The Hydroponic growing process uses about 10% of the quantity of water. It also uses fewer fertilizers, compared to conventional methods. Because the water is totally clean after usage, it hereby gives room for reusage thereby saving cost and cutting down on waste
• A large amount of produce:
  The major goal of this farming technique is to maximize the outcome of crops in a tiny or compressed space. This farming method allows cultivars to produce more crops consistently in a small area.
• Zero use of chemicals/Pesticides:
  This type of farming is performed in a controlled environment that prevents the entry of pests, so there would be no need for pesticides.
  This deters crop destruction and decreases the possibility of a spectrum of fungal diseases as the humidity levels are now duly managed. At the end of the day, you are left with not just better yield, but also healthier and safer products to consume

Disadvantages of Vertical Agriculture

• Insufficient Pollination:
  As you know Vertical farming is indoor farming, this prevents the entry of pests, thereby preventing the advent of some insects and then, Pollination is being hindered
• Experts are required:
  Vertical farming is complex, so experts are needed to set it up in the right manner. However, since the technology of Vertical farming is new, it might be difficult to find somebody in your local area who has the required level of expertise in this field.
• It Depends on Cutting Edge Technology:
  This type of farming depends on a range of technology for everything such as lighting, temperature regulation, humidity and so on
  A single problem with any of these technologies can inhibit the process of vertical farming. For example, if the cultivar loses power for a day, its result can be very costly for the day’s produce.

New And Exciting Companies Pushing The Boundaries Of Vertical Farming

Aero Farm: Planting The Best Plants To Improve Humanity

AeroFarms, a company originating from the east coast of the United States, is bringing precision agriculture to new levels in order to increase productivity while reducing to the barest minimum negative environmental impacts. Already named as one of the most innovative companies in the world(with good reason), Aerofarm pledges to do even more to improve humans by way of planting the best plants, and that via innovative technology.

Having received $100 million in funding in the fall of 2019 and additional funding amounting to a total of $238 million, the company has been consolidating on all her wins to bring vertical farming into the limelight. For example, their patented aviation technology enables the production of plants in the healthiest, most efficient and least risky fashion. And that's not all: the mission-driven philosophy of the company led to the establishment of their retail brand, DreamGreens, created to provide a constant supply of fresh pesticide-free vegetables to consumers no matter the time of the year.

Freight Farms: Every Space, a Potential Farm

Freight farm is involved with turning rooftops, campuses, containers and other viable spaces into thriving vertical farms in mostly urban settings.
The company was birthed in Boston with a mission to use such technologies as sensors to control various parameters like humidity and temperature for optimum growth of crops.
To make this possible, insulating materials are used to house the vertical farm. This effectively shields the crops from extreme temperatures.

The goal is the same as the founder, Friedman reiterates: the process is controlled by using sensors, feedback and control devices to give real-time diagnosis so that the experts know just what parameters to adjust for optimum crop growth.

Plenty: Aim To Feed Humanity.

Rightly dubbed the Alibaba of vertical farming, Plenty's believes that providing nutrition and healthy food to the 7 billion people in the world today is a possibility. To this end, Plenty is adopting conventional farm practices, combining organic farming techniques and infusing cutting edge technology to enable scaled-up vertical farms.

Anywhere you hear about plenty, you would likely hear the name of billionaire businessman 'Jeff Bezos'. That's because the Amazon founder is a proud believer in Plenty's vision and an active investor. With time, Plenty hopes to scale up production so that a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables are available to everyone, anywhere, anytime.

Conclusion

The world's population is growing at a fast pace. And more than at any time in history, the issue of food security is an imminent threat that requires immediate solution. From experience, conventional ways of farming have their limitations such as dependence on rain and exposure to harsh weather conditions. The solution has never been more evident: vertical farming technique.