All you need to know about Vertical Farming
The picture of the farmer with a bandana on his head mowing wheat on a beautiful sunny day is the first thing that comes to mind when we think of agriculture. Furthermore, the fields have always been associated with the core values of our society. The farmer’s life is marked by the rhythms of nature, and it provides him with his sustenance. The farmer knows the times and ways to obtain the fruits of the Earth. However, traditional agriculture, although it provides an interpretation of work and the romantic environment, is inefficient in responding to the new needs of our society.
The world population was less than 2 billion people at the beginning of the last century and has grown to 7.9 billion today. This growth has led to the increase of urban areas, seeing the formation of metropolises like Shanghai with 41 million people populating the city and its surroundings. The world population, despite being very diversified, prefers to live in areas with characteristics that can be traced back to a core of fundamental values. The areas that offer more employment possibilities are preferred to the remote countryside and mountainous areas. And these areas are concentrated on the coasts or along large rivers, this also guarantees the supply of water and foodthat feeds the urban core.
The world population is constantly growing and consequently also the demand for food to satisfy this demand. In addition, the growing attention to the quality of cultivated food places an entire sector in the position of having to innovate to increase the yield and quality of crops.
Traditional agriculture is fundamentally based on vast tracts of land intended for seasonal plant cultivation. The main criticalities of this method which has always been used by man to provide for an essential need are the exposure to pathogens that can compromise the yield of the soil, the seasonality of the products and the limitation of the variety of production based on climatic areas.
Let’s look at the problem of plant diseases. This risk is dealt with differently according to different technology, legislation, and innovation. The most popular method to combat the aggression of bacteria or insects is the use of chemical pesticides which have harmful consequences for the end user of the products themselves by introducing artificial elements in the production of food. The second response of the sector is the use of Genetically Modified Organisms that are processed to resist those diseases that can lead to the loss of crops or that increase the yield of the land itself.
So, what is Vertical Farming? Vertical Farming is an indoor cultivation system that allows you to monitor cultivation parameters and eliminate problems related to environmental factors. By creating plants within which plants encounter an ecosystem that enhances all their characteristics, they do not need to defend themselves against pathogens and therefore do not need pesticides or genetic modifications. The idea behind these initiatives is to replace chemistry with technology.
Vertical Farming also makes it possible to reduce soil consumption and all related problems. We think of the vast expanses of cultivated fields that through intensive cultivation practices lead to unsustainable consequences. For example, the use of fertilizers and pesticides can lead to soil sterility or groundwater pollution.
The idea is to grow plants in factories that apply the technology of “white rooms“, aseptic environments in which light, water and air are monitored in order to maximize crop yields. Take basil for example, in traditional farming systems basil is harvested 3 or 4 times a year while in Vertical Farming crops, 20 harvests per year can be reached. This is because the plant is exposed to light, water and air conditions that are designed to meet all the plant’s needs and the isolation from the outside world allows the plant to grow without exposure to elements, such as bacteria or insects, which can damage it.
This technology has also made it possible to exploit ancient seeds whose production had been interrupted because they were too weak to resist the evolution of pathogens. Furthermore, at present Vertical Farming producers are for the most part using pure seeds that allow to work on the quality of the seed and plants to create seeds that are more productive according to the needs or that generate fruits with more intense flavors.
From an environmental point of view, the carbon footprint per kilo of product is significantly lower than traditional crops as the Vertical Farming plant provides for the entry of the seed and the exit of the final packaged product. This excludes the use of fossil fuel vehicles for sowing, irrigation, harvesting and distribution. Furthermore, this mechanism allows to overcome the geographical limits for production. In fact, a Vertical Farming plant can be built near the shops where the product will then be sold.
In truth, energy consumption is high considering that most of the time the entire process is automated, and the supply of light is constant but still not comparable to the energy resources needed to produce food in the traditional way.
In the future it is conceivable to combine Vertical Farming with other sustainable technologies, such as Green Buildings, to create proximity cultivation mechanisms and create sustainable habits together with new business opportunities.
