Hydroponic As the Solution
Photo by Izuddin Helmi Adnan on Unsplash
Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)
As mentioned before, agriculture as we know it has already reached a very very high efficiency and it will be impossible to keep up with the amount of produce needed in the decades to come. This is due to the limited space of fertile land available for agriculture [20], due to the limited resources available necessary for the production of fertilizers [44], due to the diminishing number of bees, due to climate change and due to the increasing number of extreme weather events [36].
Solving most of the challenges mentioned above, Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) seems to be a possible solution [7, 13]. The major downside here: gigantic greenhouses have to be build around the world and they will consume a huge amount of electricity, if ran as CEAs [2, 6]. Although applied with renewable energy sources by the way, they will still be ecological beneficial and to at least some extend necessary for humankind.
Urban Farming making use of synergies
Nonetheless, there may be also a different non-conventional approach: up to 70% of society is expected to live in cities by 2050 [49], another challenge we will face soon... So what would be better than to directly grow our food where it is needed?
Here comes hydroponic in place, as we don't find fertile soil in cities. Hydroponic is growing plants without soil (hydro-, greek for water, and -ponic, greek for cultivation) but in water rich of nutrients [26]. There are already huge projects going to be implemented in major cities, trying to improve the concepts in the realm of hydroponics and trying to find and improve the synergies with the city's infrastructure [48, 51, 52]; There are many upsides for farming directly in cities such as the synergies of micro climate and urban farming [19] or the improved reuse of energy and material streams [18]. An other example is the use of sewage streams to grow the plants hydroponically, reducing waste and cleaning the waste streams [14, 39]. Additionally, this nutrient rich water may be circulated throughout the hydroponic systems installed, enabling a significant reduction of water usage [2, 6].
Explaining all you need to know for setting up your very own small urban farm at home...
That sounds all very fancy, high-tech and futuristic? Well, it is. But don't worry, we all can do something to solve the challenge of food supply starting today: Let us just grow our own amount of herbs, leafy greens or vegetables at a small system at home! We could be able to choose what to grow, do something good for the environment by reducing the ecological footprint of our current food supply [24] and may include an healthier lifestyle [32]. Furthermore, we may be able to grow our desired food all year long without even doing much or getting dirty. And there is so much more – we are just scratching the surface!
..and with just scratching the surface, most of us already face big hurdles of not knowing where to start and how to grow our own greens, vegetables and fruits. This guide aims at diminishing this unknowingness by explaining all you need to know for setting up your very own small urban farm at home.
Link to References