Urban Farms

I am always looking for innovative ideas that will help solve global challenges.

Food prices have been rising due to: increases in population, reduction in arable lands within many countries, and extreme weather causing the destruction of crops. Another reason is the growth of middle and upper classes in 2nd and 3rd world countries, allowing them to consumer a wider variety and larger quantity of food. The strain on food supplies creates a strain on social stability as we are seeing in India and some parts of the Middle East. In order to move forward, countries are needing to find new and economic ways to feed their people in order to remain intact.

One idea that has been studied is vertical farming. Vertical farms are basically high rise greenhouses that allow for farming in urban environments. Given that the farms are indoors, the structures allow farmers to have greater control over the environmental conditions that their crops are exposed to, theoretically reducing the chance of crop damage. Also, given that vertical farms do not take up as much horizontal space as traditional farms, the vertical farms can be integrated countries where arable land is not abundant and positioned in urban settings, providing a shorter distance to the target consumers, thereby reducing transportation and storage costs, providing a fresher product selection for consumers, and reducing foreign reliance- reducing risk of volatile food pricing.

Vertical farming is an unproven concept but has been getting increased attention. There are many variables that need to be proven including whether or not: the operating costs will be in‐line with food prices; growers can truly manipulate the multi‐floor, in‐door environments to suit the unique conditions necessary to grow multiple types of crops; and growers can control pests and disease. A few low cost prototypes have been built but no sophisticated vertical farms have been erected to date to begin proving the concept due to the substantial upfront infrastructure development costs.

The most likely places that will start experimenting with this concept will be places such as China, Singapore, and India given their population size and density, their urban mobilization, and the fact that their arable land is growing scarce. Many cities around the World are waiting for someone to take the first step to prove the concept and if shown to be a valid design, we should start seeing vertical farms constructed in many urban centers.