Vertical Farming may be the Future of Farming and reduce food shortages.

Vertical farming is the practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers. Instead of growing food on a single level such as a farm, the food is produced in vertically stacked layers in skyscrapers, shipping containers, or even warehouses.

It uses modern indoor farming techniques like artificial control of temperature, light, humidity, and gases to produce food. The goal of vertical farming is to maximize crop yield in a limited space.

The other advantage is its ability to grow a variety of crops as they do not share the same plot of land. Crops are not exposed to the vagaries of the weather as they are grown indoors, as a result of which less crop is lost.

Types of vertical farming-

Hydroponics-

Hydroponics refers to the technique of growing plants without the use of soil. The roots of the plants are submerged in liquid solutions containing macronutrients as nitrogen, sulfur, potassium, chlorine, zinc, copper, etc. Sand and sawdust are used in place of soil to provide support to the roots. The yield increases due to hydroponics and the water usage also decreases.

A study has shown that in hydroponic farming yield of lettuce increased by 11 times and the water required was 13 times less.

Aeroponics-

Aeroponics does not require any liquid or solid medium to grow plants. A liquid solution with nutrients is sprayed in air chambers where the plants are suspended. It requires 90% less water than hydroponics and no liquid or solid medium to grow plants in.

Aquaponics-

It is coined by combining the two words Hydroponics and Aquaculture. Nutrient-rich wastewater from the fish tanks is led to a bio-filter where the toxic ammonia is converted to nutritious nitrate. While absorbing nutrients the plants purify the wastewater which is sent back to the fish tanks.

Types of Vertical farms-

Shipping Containers-

Recycled shipping containers are becoming popular to be used for vertical farming. They are used for growing a variety of plants and are equipped with LED lights, climate controls, vertically stacked hydroponics, and monitoring sensors.

Deep farms-

Deep farms are built from refurbished underground tunnels. They can also use nearby groundwater to reduce the cost of water supply. A deep farm can produce 7 to 9 times more food than a conventional farm.

Vertical farm in Buildings-

Abandoned buildings are often used for vertical farming. Even new buildings can be used for vertical farming systems.

Advantages and disadvantages of vertical farming-

Vertical farming has advantages as well as disadvantages which are as discussed below-

Advantages of Vertical Farming-

· Increased year-round crop production

The land required by traditional farming is large and may not remain sustainable for future generations when the population is expected to grow considerably. The arable land per person will drop. In some cases, vertical crop yield per acre is over ten times that of a traditional method.

A 30-story building with a basal area of 5 acres can potentially produce an equivalent of 2,400 acres of conventional horizontal farming. Year-round crop production is possible in a controlled environment which multiplies the productivity of the farmed surface 4 to 6 times depending on the crop.

As against a single crop produced on a traditional farm, many crops can be grown and harvested at the same time according to the plot where they are placed.

· Less use of water

Vertical farming is environmentally responsible due to low emissions and reduced use of water.

Water usage can be drastically reduced because the same water can be recycled time and again through the same hydroponic system. Crops can be grown with 75 to 90% less water than traditional cultivation.

· Environment protection

The use of fertilizer is greatly reduced. Herbicides and pesticides applied for weed and pest control in traditional farming are generally over-applied that run into lakes and rivers causing pollution. Vertical farming does not affect animals and trees and is good for biodiversity.

· Preparation for Food security of future

The world population will increase to more than 9 billion by 2050 and most of the population will be concentrated in the urban areas. There will be an increased demand for food and vertical farming can help in meeting the challenge.

· Adverse weather condition does not affect vertical farming

Crops grown by traditional farming depend on good weather and can be destroyed due to heavy rains, hailstorms, floods, fires, drought, and undesirable temperature. Changes in rain patterns and temperature can reduce agricultural output. Container-based farms can produce food year-round without getting affected.

Disadvantages of Vertical farming-

There are many limitations of vertical farming which we have discussed below-

· Poor Economics

The startup costs of a vertical farm can be quite high thereby requiring a longer break-even time.

At present in order for vertical farms to be successful high-value crops must be grown since the crops like wheat are grown cheaper by a traditional farm. Current methods require huge energy consumption for lighting, temperature, humidity control, etc. At the current market prices, it is economically uncompetitive.

According to The financial times' report as of 2020, most vertical farming companies are unprofitable except for some Japanese companies.

Difficulty in Pollination-

As vertical farming is done in a controlled environment where there are no insects, the pollination has to be done manually which makes it labor-intensive and costly.

High Labor costs

The vertical farms are mostly concentrated in urban centers where the labor cost is high. Automation is required which may reduce the labor costs.

Pollution

Since there is a huge requirement of energy for lighting and temperature control, if the power is met by burning fossil fuels it would lead to pollution. As vertical farms become more efficient in harnessing sunlight there would be a reduction in pollution.

Concentration in production of few food items

Lettuce, microgreens, and herbs are the easiest crops to grow indoors so many farms are concentrating on producing these food items. If a vertical farm has three competitors and all have their warehouse stocked with the same item and destined for the same metropolitan area the price of lettuce will fall and someone would have to throw away the wilting greens.

Other plants too can be grown but it takes expert understanding and several cycles of trial and error to be successful.

Investment in Vertical farming and the future

In 2013, the Association for vertical farming was founded in Munich. By May 2015, the AFV had expanded with chapters all over Europe, Asia, Canada, and the USA. The organization unites growers and inventors to improve food security and focuses on workshops and summits for advancing vertical farming designs and technologies.

Investments have been picking up in vertical farming.

· July 2017, Softbank invested $200 million in Plenty.

· August 2017, IKEA and the Sheikh of Dubai invested $40 million in Aero farms.

· December 2018, Google Ventures invested $90 million in Bowery farming.

Japan is one of the early pioneers in vertical farming and holds the largest share in the global vertical farm market. Traditional farming there is losing out due to the aging population. Spread is one of the companies there, making good profits. Annually it produces around 11 million heads of lettuce.

In the Middle East, vertical farming can be a good move as it currently imports all of its crops and vegetables. An indoor farm in Saudi Arabia can use solar energy to power LED at a low cost.

Vertical farming technologies are still new and companies have yet to produce crops at a scale to make them economically feasible. Large vertical farms may not become profitable anytime soon as they face high capital costs and land expenses.

Aero Farms, a large vertical farm, only started generating a small profit eight years into its nine-year life. But smaller vertical farms could produce countercyclical crops and provide a local alternative to food that is imported.

For over 11,000 years food has been produced and consumed at the same place. Only when the transportation became much more connected the supply got spread out. Fresh local healthy food can be produced in the city itself for the consumers. Vertical farming will create many new occupational jobs and groups. In the near future when the technology improves further we can hope for better and cheaper produce.