What is Vertical Farming ? Types And Advantages/disadvantages of Vertical Farming

History of Vertical Farming:

 Vertical farming is actually a rather old idea. Indigenous peoples used vertically layered growing techniques like the rice terraces of East Asia. The term vertical farming was coined by American geologist Gilbert Ellis Bailey in 1915. In 1999, Dickson Despommier, a professor at New York's Columbia University, popularized the modern idea of vertical farming, building upon the idea together with his students.

What is vertical farming?

Vertical farming involves growing plants indoors, which is why it’s sometimes also known as indoor farming. Instead of sunlight and rain, vertical farms use LED lighting and controlled growing and nutrition systems. Plants are stacked vertically in layers, so many of the farms look like warehouses filled with large shelving units.

For example: Europe’s biggest vertical farm is being developed outside Copenhagen in Denmark by Danish start-up Nordic Harvest. It is a warehouse-like 75,000-square-foot facility where plants are grown in 14 stacked layers, according to Free Think. When it’s fully completed, Nordic Harvest says its vertical farm will supply 1,000 tonnes of food a year.

Techniques of Vertical Farming:

1. Hydroponics
2. Aquaponics
3. Aeroponics
4. Controlled-environment agriculture

Hydroponic Vertical Farming :

In hydroponic vertical farming, an aqueous solution comprised of all essential nutrients needed for optimal plant growth is supplied to plants. Examples of this type of vertical farming includes modified hydroponics systems, such as nutrient film technique (Ex. A-Frame and vertical grow towers), deep water culture (DWC), and aeroponics.

Aquaponic Vertical Farming :

Conversely, in aquaponic vertical farming, fish production is integrated with plant production utilizing hydroponic system designs. However, instead of fertilizing plants with an aqueous solution comprised of all essential nutrients, plants are alternatively fertilized with nutrient-rich fish water that has been filtered, converted to nitrates, and supplemented for limiting nutrients deficient in aquaponic systems.

Aeroponics :

The National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) is responsible for developing this innovative indoor growing technique. In the 1990s, NASA was interested in finding efficient ways to grow plants in space and coined the term “aeroponics,” defined as “growing plants in an air/mist environment with no soil and very little water.”

Aeroponics systems are still an anomaly in the vertical farming world, but they are attracting significant interest. An aeroponic system is by far the most efficient plant-growing system for vertical farms, using up to 90% less water than even the most efficient hydroponic systems. Plants grown in these aeroponic systems have also been shown to uptake more minerals and vitamins, making the plants healthier and potentially more nutritious.

Controlled-environment agriculture :

Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) is the modification of the natural environment to increase crop yield or extend the growing season.CEA systems are typically hosted in enclosed structures such as greenhouses or buildings, where control can be imposed on environmental factors including air, temperature, light, water, humidity, carbon dioxide, and plant nutrition. In vertical farming systems, CEA is often used in conjunction with soilless farming techniques such as hydroponics, aquaponics, and aeroponics.

Types of Vertical Farms:

1. Building-based farms
2. Shipping-container vertical farms
3. Deep farms

Building-based vertical farms:

Building-based vertical farms are often housed in abandoned buildings in cities, such as Chicago’s “The Plant” vertical farm that was constructed in an old pork-packing plant. New building construction is also used in vertical farms, such as the new multistory vertical farm being attached to an existing parking lot structure in downtown Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Shipping-Container Vertical Farms :

Old or recycled shipping containers are equipped with LED lighting, vertically stacked farms, climate controls and monitoring sensors. Such types of farms can save space and get a higher yield in the process.

Deep farms :

A "deep farm" is a vertical farm built from refurbished underground tunnels or abandoned mine shafts. As temperature and humidity underground are generally temperate and constant, deep farms require less energy for heating. Deep farms can also use nearby groundwater to reduce the cost of water supply. Despite low costs, a deep farm can produce seven to nine times more food than a conventional farm above ground on the same area of land, according to Saffa Riffat, chair in Sustainable Energy at the University of Nottingham. Coupled with automated harvesting systems, these underground farms can be fully self-sufficient.

Which country starts vertical farming?

Currently, the country with the highest number of vertical farms is the USA. In Asia, the leading countries in the industry are Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. In Europe, vertical farms can be found among others in Germany, France, UK, and the Netherlands.

Why do vertical farmers fail?

Most vertical farms require costly equipment such as climate controls, shelving units, LED lights, water lines, computers, and so on. Nonetheless, the cost of indoor agricultural equipment is likely to fall drastically as indoor agriculture gets more popular and the number of vertical farms grows.

Advantages

1. Efficiency

Conventional farms require too much land and water, while vertical farming requires a fraction of it with more yield per acre. Another additional benefit is that vertical farming can produce crops throughout the year. Even more that one crop can be harvested at once due to their individual land and plots.

2. Weather resistant

Traditional farming is subjected to unpredictable weather patterns and natural disasters such floods, droughts, wildfires, etc. In a controlled environment of vertical farming such factors are negated and thus less susceptible to disruption in the supply chain process.

3. Environmental Conservation

Vertical farming helps in environmental conservation as deforestation that accompanies traditional farming can be negated, thus saving resources in the long run.

Producing food indoors reduces or eliminates conventional plowing, planting, and harvesting by farm machinery, protecting soil, and reducing emissions.

Disadvantages

1. Huge costs

Vertical farming is quite costly and some use urban settings where the real estate prices are high, thus, its maintenance costs are even higher as compared to traditional farming.

2. High Energy Consumption

During the growing season, the sun shines on a vertical surface at an extreme angle such that much less light is available to crops than when they are planted on flat land.

Therefore, supplemental light would be required.