Is Vertical Farming the next big thing?

To begin, what actually is vertical farming?

Vertical farming is not similar to traditional farming, it is very modern and futuristic. Differing from traditional farming; crops are grown on multiple layers compared to one single-layered field. (www.igrow.news). As a consequence multiple layered vertical farming has been integrated into skyscrapers, shipping containers and repurposed warehouses, moving away from traditional rural areas into the urban space. (www.thebalancesmb.com)

Vertical farming can be characterised by the type of structure which the plants/crops are housed in. The vertical farm building is when the farm is attached to a building or other structure. (www.hausvoneden.com/). As shown below:

www.hausvoneden.com 

Shipping container vertical farming which I mentioned at the beginning is becoming very popular. The interior of the shipping containers are being refurbished into self-contained vertical farms. These are computer-controlled to maintain levels of growth. (www.hausvoneden.com)

https://www.growpodsolution.com/

Is vertical farming the answer to the need for increased food provision? 

The primary goal of vertical farming is to produce more food and crops per sq. ft. of land. As a globe, our population is expected to grow to 10 billion people by the year 2050. Therefore, feeding this number of people can be difficult. There are already many arguments and controversy over food provision currently, so just imagine in another 30years time! Vertical farming ensures continuous crop production all year round. Outside weather conditions do not affect or hinder the production of these crops.

Temperature, humidity, soil/ water pH and nutrients can be precisely controlled by computers and automated systems to enable peak growing conditions.

It has been reported that the earth has lost 1/3 of arable land in the past 40years due to erosion and pollution. As you can imagine if traditional farming was to continue alone without the help of vertical farming, arable land would continue to be lost. The loss of land will be even more immense especially when the demand for food is growing. 

An example of vertical farming close to home. 

An Edinburgh firm "Shockingly Fresh" has plans to develop 5 vertical farms across the UK, including 1 in Scotland. In an interview, they claimed vertical farming will produce up to 5 times more crops than traditional methods. (https://www.agritecture.com). They plan to use hydroponic towers in naturally lit environments to grow multiple crops. Hydroponic towers are pictured below:

There are 3 different types of vertical farming, these include; hydroponic, aeroponic and aquaponic. All vertical farms use soil-free systems to provide nutrients to the plants. 

Hydrophonic vertical growing systems are the most popular. The plant roots are submerged in a nutrient solution which is monitored and circulated enabling the correct chemical composition to be maintained.

Aeroponics is the most efficient way to grow plants as it uses the least resources. Aeroponics is defined as growing plants in the air environment with no soil and very little water. (planetrenewed.com)

https://www.advancednutrients.com/articles/aeroponics-and-nasa/

Lastly, aquaponics, is a type of vertical farming requiring a very small area of only 5mx3m. This is a process of combining plants and fish in the same ecosystem. Fish are grown in indoor ponds- producing nutrient-rich waste, which is recycled to produce food for the plants. Waste material, oxygen from plants is taken up by the fish. (aquaponictrend.blogspot.com)

https://aquaponictrend.blogspot.com/2018/06/aquaponics-vertical-farm.html 

One of the main downsides to vertical farming is the limited range of crops that are currently able to be grown under these circumstances.

Personally, I hope to see more vertical farming in mainland UK as well as Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This would enable production of foreign crops that are not traditionally grown in this climate. This reduces the quantity of food required to be imported into the UK, reducing transport costs and air pollution, as well as providing a potential solution to the world's food shortage.