Benefits of Vertical Farming
Vertical farming involves growing of crops in vertically inclined layers incorporated in other structures such as warehouses or shipping containers. It entails the use of controlled environment agriculture technology and indoor farming methods where one can control all factors such as temperature, light, humidity and other environmental factors. Below are some of the benefits that accrue to vertical farming.
Due to the ever increasing population, and land and water being scarce, vertical farming seems by far a better method of producing crops and medicine compared to conventional farming. This is because the masses will need more land for housing and conventional farming requires large tracts of land for crop production. Vertical farming saves a lot of space and can provide food for a large number of individuals. For example, a single thirty stories square block of vertical farming can produce food for approximately ten thousand individuals.
A major advantage of vertical farming is the conservation of water. Since this type of farming uses recycled blackwater during irrigation, it helps in conserving drinking water which is becoming more and scarcer with the growing world population. Vertical farming is seen as a solution to a chronic problem facing many starving countries that face a lack of drinking water and drought. Growing plants in farm scrapers help to naturally harness and reuse the transpiration for irrigation. Vertical gardening systems seems the best solution when it comes to conserving water considering conventional farming use almost seventy percent of global drinkable water, and most of it is polluted by insecticides, pesticides, and fertilizers.
Vertical farming is more efficient in that the crops are grown organically. There is no use of insecticide or pesticides as no insect can attack the crops because the environment is controlled.
Another advantage is that the plants are protected from harsh weather conditions hence there is minimal loss of crops due to drought, hail, hurricane or snow. This is because the temperatures in the vertical farming structures are regulated and unpredictable weather patterns such as global warming can be controlled.
Vertical farming is not seasonal. The crops are produced all year round due to the fact that the environment is controlled, and it uses irrigation systems.
Since vertical farming can be done even in even in the inner cities, the food transportation distance is largely reduced. This is because the produce and crops are now easily accessible to those in need. The transportation cost is also highly decreased.
Another benefit is the reduced use of fossil fuels since there is no use of heavy machines to transport the produce or till the land hence leaving the soil unused.
For further info, visit here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertical_farming
