VERTICAL FARMING

Vertical Farming is a great idea with the help of which one can minimize the land usage
while still feeding the masses. It is not difficult to adopt this idea; just find a fertile urban land,
create blocks through concrete and glass and then start farming the vegetables, pigs, fruits,
poultry, and fish on it. All this will be happened in a structured and controlled environment.
Vertical Farming Advantages:

Efficient Method: There are a number of people who diverted from traditional farming
to vertical farming because they thought that this method is quite efficient and effective.
When a person goes for this method then he does not need to spend his amount on pesticides
or on insecticides; everything is produced in a controlled environment so there are less
chances of attack of pests and insects.

Protection from Harsh Weather Condition: One of the best vertical advantages is
protection of crops and plant from harsh weather condition. The reason is that the
temperature of vertical farm is set at the level that is good for the growth of crops and plants.
The indifferent weather conditions such as hurricanes, hail, drought and snap freezes have
little or no effect on the produce. As global temperature is becoming unpredictable with the
passage of time therefore many farmers considered this method of farming more suitable.

Reduce Water usage and wastage: When you compare the vertical farming with
conventional farming then you come to know that the former method reduces the water waste
to a great extent. Almost 70% of the worlds drinkable water is used for traditional farming
while only 30-40% utilized for Vertical Farming purpose. The reduction of water waste is
another vertical farming advantage. When the plants and crops are grown in these farms then
transpiration process starts. This process makes it feasible for the farmers to reuse the water
for irrigation purpose. The chances of water waste become minimal and therefore this
method is helpful in resources conservation process.

Production of organic crops: Vertical farming will facilitate production of organic crops
in large scale production. Further, adoption of this technology will help in reduction in use of
chemical pesticides.

Conservation and recycling of natural resources: The vertical farming technology

includes hydroponics and aeroponics which consumes very less amount of water than

utilized in the conventional agriculture. Thus, helps in conservation and recycling of the
water resources. Further, urban sewage waste can be used in composted and recycled form in
vertical farming, which will further help in recycling of the resources.

Environment friendly: Vertical farming will reduce the dependency on land resources
and help in regrowth of forests. Further, due to less use of equipments, it will lead to
decrease in CO2 emission, thus help in conservation of the environment.

Sustainable urban growth: Vertical farming, applied with a holistic approach in

combination with other technologies, will help urban areas to absorb the expected rise in
population and yet still remain food sufficient. However, traditional farming will continue
because many crops are not suited to indoor farming.

Vertical Farming Disadvantages:

High Cost: One of the main Vertical Farming disadvantage is the high cost associated
with this idea. You know that the price of urban land is higher than that of farmland. The
person who wants to use this idea must have to arrange big investment. Purchasing the land
is not only a single issue that requires big amount. He would need money for powering up
the farmscraper. There are some expenses which are related with creating a controlled
environment of this vertical farm. There are also some flaws which will be noticed only
when a person runs this system and therefore he must know how to deal with such issues.

Limited varieties of vegetables and Fruits: Another thing that makes this idea
unattractive for the farmer is the fact that they are unable to grow the different varieties of
fruits and vegetables in this vertical farm. The reason is that there are only a few varieties of
vegetables and fruits that can be produced well in this controlled environment of farm.

HYDROPONICS
There is no physiological difference between plants grown plants grown hydroponically
and those grown in soil. In soil both organic and inorganic components must be broken into
inorganic elements, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron etc. before they
are available to plants. These elements adhere to the soil particles and are exchanged into the soil
solution where they are absorbed by the plants.
In Hydroponics the plant roots are moistened with the nutrient solution containing these
elements. The subsequent mineral uptake by plants is the same (depicted in green color in the
chart 1).
There are many advantages of growing plants hydroponically;
1. Hydroponic gardens produce the healthiest crops with high yields and are consistently
reliable
2. Gardening is clean and extremely easy, requiring very little effort
3. Due to nutrients fed directly to the roots, plants grow faster and with small roots plants
may be grown closer. In general hydroponically grown garden needs 1/5 of the overall
space when compared with soil gardens
4. Hydroponically grown plants do not come in contact with soil borne pests and diseases
thus saves costs of soil preparation, insecticides, fungicides
5. Since the amount of nutrient solution is fed directly to the plant roots, there is no wastage
of water due to run off or evaporation
Overall, the main advantages of hydroponics over soil culture are - more efficient
nutrition regulation, availability in regions of the world having non-arable land, efficient use of
water and fertilizers, ease and low cost of sterilization of the medium, and higher density
planting, leading to increased yields per acre.