VERTICAL FARMING

Subject : Agriculture

Concept :

Vertical farming:

• Vertical Farming is the process of growing agricultural crops in vertical stacks in door, in a controlled environment.
• It uses the same amount of water as that of regular farming.
• However, the other raw materials consumed by vertical farming are less.
• According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) of the United Nations, vertical farming consumes 75% less raw material as compared to traditional farming.

Benefits:

• Under Vertical Farming, the plants are grown indoors with or without soil.
• This protects the crops from incessant rains, unruly winds and dry climate.
• The crop yield in vertical farming is more than traditional farming as it adopts two major farming techniques namely hydroponics and aeroponics.

Hydroponics and Aeroponics:

• In Hydroponics technique, roots are submerged in water that is infused with nutrients.
• Aeroponics is a farming method where plants are grown in closed or semi-closed environment with nutrients sprayed in the air.

Vertical farming disadvantages:

• Vertical farming technologies face economic challenges with large start-up costs compared to traditional farms.
• Vertical farms also face large energy demands due to the use of supplementary light like LEDs.
• Moreover, if non-renewable energy is used to meet these energy demands, vertical farms could produce more pollution than traditional farms or greenhouses.

Aquaponics : It refers to any system that combines conventional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as snails, fish, crayfish or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment.