VeRtIcAl FaRmInG

Introduction:

It is a  farming technique that uses a vertical building to grow a large amount of food in the area that the food is needed. These kind of farms would co-exist with some general purpose building, such as an apartment building which grows enough food to support the agricultural needs of 10,000 people. It is a closed system concept in which all the resources are recycled back into the system. The waste products, minerals, water and air are captured, treated, and put directly back into the system. Composting of waste which are produced by the building will provide fertilizers for growing the crops. Transportation costs in terms of transporting waste and supplies will be substantially reduced


Advantages:
• A building which occupies one square block and which is 30 stories tall could provide enough food for about 10,000 people.
• An agricultural land which has been degraded due to some aggressive industrial agricultural uses would be allowed to rest and recover because these vertical farms would provide great quantities of food.
•The crops grown indoors will be protected from harsh and random weather conditions such as hurricanes and typhoons.
• The transportation costs will be substantially reduced because the food will be consumed very close to wherever it is grown.
• Abandoned properties can be rehabilitated and becomes the major functioning and contributing parts of the city.

Disadvantages:
• Initial costs required will be quite high. Designing and building a farm with such a  high technology will be very challenging.
• All crops will be able to be grown in this kind of environment. Although fish and seafood could be easily grown in a vertical farm, most meats can not be raised in an environment as closed as this. The variety of foods may decrease; however, the food available could be of higher quality.
• Probably, it may be hard to convince most city-dwellers that this practice is sanitary and safe because human waste will be used for fertilization.
• Major steps forward in microbiology, hydrobiology, physics, automation, genetics, waste management, and urban planning will be needed. Advances in hydroponics, which is the practice of growing crops in water instead of soil, will be needed for vertical farming to become a reality. This is a future concept, but is one that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and allow damaged farmland to be rehabilitated in an environmental friendly way.