Modern agriculture is practised away from the cities. The world’s agricultural land is rapidly eroding. About 40 per cent of it is already degraded, and a substantial portion of the rest will be gone by 2050. So in 40 years, the earth may not have enough land to feed its large population. Transport of food uses up a considerable portion of the world’s energy production. Scientists have shown that plants actually do not need the soil to flourish, as long as they have an anchor and a source of water and nutrients. In fact, it turns out that plants anchored in the air — as in aeroponics — need only 10 per cent of the water used by those in farms.
Businessworld
Hari Pulakkat
By situating farms inside cities, we may reduce the need to transport food long distances. This trade-off may contribute to the economic viability of vertical farms. In Singapore, for example, aeroponics is commercially viable now for temperate climate salad greens. Another innovation in farming is hydroponics where crops grow on water. Neither hydroponics nor aeroponics systems would need to use pesticides in large measure.
