Vertical farming is the practice of producing food and medicine in vertically stacked layers, vertically inclined surfaces and/or integrated in other structures (such as in a skyscraper, used warehouse, or shipping container). The modern ideas of vertical farming use indoor farming techniques and controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) technology, where all environmental factors can be controlled.
These facilities utilize artificial control of light, environmental control (humidity, temperature, gases…) and fertigation. Some vertical farms use techniques similar to greenhouses, where natural sunlight can be used .
Using Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology, this modern idea uses indoor farming techniques. The artificial control of temperature, light, humidity, and gases makes producing foods and medicine indoor possible.
How Vertical Farming Works
There are four critical areas in understanding how vertical farming works: 1. Physical layout, 2. Lighting, 3. Growing medium, and 4. Sustainability features.
The primary goal of vertical farming is producing more foods per square meter. To accomplish this goal, crops are cultivated in stacked layers in a tower life structure. A perfect combination of natural and artificial lights is used to maintain the perfect light level in the room.
Instead of soil, hydroponic growing mediums are used. Peat moss or coconut husks and similar non-soil mediums are very common in vertical farming. In fact, vertical farming uses 95 percent less water.
Contract farming is a hit in Wardha
Nagpur mandarin orchards are concentrated mostly in Amrawati and Nagpur districts of the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The present study was conducted during 2014-15 in these two districts with the objective of knowing the growers perception towards contract farming and find out the issues governing profitability.
Vertical farming Good or Bad
Vertical farms like this aim to minimise water use and maximise productivity by growing crops “hydroponically” in small amounts of nutrient-rich water stacked in a climate-controlled building. But it’s important to recognise that the increased productivity of indoor vertical farming comes at the cost of much higher energy usage due to the need for artificial lighting and climate control systems.The energy demand associated with vertical farming, however, is much higher than other methods of food production.
Alternatives of Vertical farming
A naturally lit methods also exist, from raised beds in communal gardens to rooftop aquaponic systems that grow food with the help of fish. These methods all require less energy when compared to vertical farming because they don’t need artificial lighting.Gotham Greens in New York and Lufa Farms in Montreal, for example, are both commercial farms that use vacant roof space to grow food in naturally lit hydroponic greenhouses.