Agriculture 2030 — Urban Farming

With the ever growing population of South Africa and the rise in droughts, its safe to say that our climate is changing, and not for the best. The reality of dropping crop yields might be closer than we thought. How can we counter the effects of climate change to ensure food security for our countries ever growing population?

In 2016 the South African government finalised a free trade agreement with the European Union in effort to increase trade amongst the regions, increasing demand which in turn increases opportunity for employment as businesses expand.

The Trade, Development and Co-operation Agreement has established a free trade area that covers 90% of bilateral trade between the EU and South Africa.

After a year of the agreement being accepted it was realised that South African food producers had only used up 44,4% of the entire quota, which included 150 000 tons of sugar. How does such a great move turn out to be a bad investment? Besides lack of information sharing between producers and the government we can also add lack of produce and products as a factor.
A great example of a highly populated area that needs a constant supply of fresh produce is the Johannesburg — Tshwane corridor and its surrounding metros. The population there is expected to rise by about 1 million residents year on year. A rise in population means a rise in demand for goods and services.

City traffic is one of the greatest indicators of a growing population

If half of a trade agreement can’t be met how will we be able provide one of the fastest growing regions in South Africa with the food it needs? If you look at the Johannesburg area you realise that most of the buildings there are due for demolition. Which is where an idea made popular through the cultivation of marijuana, indoor farming should be introduced.
With the ability to control every aspect of the cultivation process vertical indoor farming should be the future we are all working towards. These farms can be set up in any warehouse or building.

Many cities have buildings that have been condemned for decades,: these can easily be the new indoor farming sites

The amount of control that is afforded to indoor farming means that plants only use the water they need which can be up to 95% less than a normal farm. This is great news considering the fact that South Africa has been having water troubles for the past few years. The use of technology in indoor farming also allows you to know exactly what the plant needs and when it needs it. Sensors within the growing room ensure that all the conditions for the most perfect crop can be mimicked, using LED lighting to represent the sun.

Hydroponic technology provides the perfect conditions for healthy plants to thrive, taking indoor vertical farming to a new level of precision and productivity with very low environmental impact and almost no risk.

Indoor crops give out 100% of their yields and it has been proven to have a faster growing cycle than traditional agriculture. With the world being more health conscious and the rise of the organic movement, it should make perfect sense for entrepreneurs and farmers to start investing in indoor farms. Since its in a closed environment it requires no pesticides and using the most organically developed seed ( GMO free) wouldn’t be in vain.

One company called “Freight Farms” has taken urban farming a step further and redesigned containers to grow crops anywhere

One of the greatest benefits of this new farming model is that cities can now have dilapidated buildings refurbished and turned into indoor farms, meaning that cities can supply their local markets with fresh produce less than a day old. Obviously there are things like grapes and oranges that need a vast area to grow their roots but crops like lettuce, tomatoes, and strawberries amongst others can be grown year round and be available within a day after they have been picked compared to produce that travels weeks before getting to your supermarket.

Originally published at Algorhythmlab.