Related Questions
- Should cage farming of chickens be banned?
- In your opinion, do you think that aeroponics, aquaponics and vertical farming will become a big deal over the course
- is there a way to continue farming large masses of crops without using harsh chemicals?
- With new technologly being developed all the time, where do you see Australia in terms of agriculture in 50+ years -
By BRIDGE8 under license from Mangorolla CIC 2024
Vertical farming can be convenient for harvesting, inspection and application of sprays. It has the potential to maximise light to leaves and reduce contact type soil borne diseases. The way we grow grape vines is a prime example of this (hillsides in Europe and trellises). I think though you might be referring to even more intensive applications in glasshouses etc. Limitations to me would be around the management aspects, ie easy to train them to grow vertically, adequate supply of water and nutrients, applications of sprays, minimisation of pests and diseases, harvesting access, and then removal and replacement at end of growth cycle.
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If designed properly, it should not have too many limitations. The vertical farm should have no material waste. All plant waste from growing can be collected and dried on site while excess food clippings can be composted in basement space.
Sky Green in Singapore is “world’s first low carbon hydraulic water-driven, tropical vegetable urban vertical farm, using green urban solutions to achieve enhanced green sustainable production of safe, fresh and delicious vegetables, using minimal land, water and energy resources” as their website puts it.
But if you want to look at one obvious disadvantage then the huge power demands of vertical farming would be too expensive and not-competitive with traditional farms using only free natural light. One solution to that would be if the biomass from the from can be used in some way to generate energy also.
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I’m sorry I don’t know much about vertical farming! It looks like a cool idea though and thanks for the question, you’ve got me curious so I’m ordering a book about it right now =P
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Hey Davidmcafee,
Great question! I don’t know much about it either… Maybe I can borrow Dominique’s book once she’s finished with it!
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Hi davidmcafee,
Logistically it is feasible and doable. However I think the scale that is needed and the level of inputs that needs to go into this type of plant production will limit this to a novelty side of agriculture instead of a total solution to our overall global production needs.
Hydroponics in the traditional horizontal approach are used extensively across the globe as a means to produce foods under controlled conditions and relatively small footprints. That said, increased costs of production associated with these technologies need to be met with consumers willing to spend extra on their food budgets. Many people can meet this added expense but many also can’t and it is those who ultimately need the food.
I totally support people individually or in groups taking the initiative in setting up hydroponic systems or planting gardens in a traditional way in their homes and places of work. But the amount of food required for a large population many of who may not have access to such technology, resources or time may limit its ability to revolutionise food production. Like all production systems, scale of production tends to reduce costs to the consumer.
I think a topic which is poorly addressed in the debate of food production is the amount of food we currently produce which is never used or simply thrown out. I think there are great opportunities to improve production in conventional systems without the need of vertical greenhouses just yet. How this food is used and how to get it to those of need is the real problem often not considered.
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