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Transformation of today greenhouses into high-technology vertical farming systems for metropolitan regions
Abstract
World population will be approximately 9 billion by the year 2050. Additional area required to feed this population using available technologies equals to the size of Brazil. Because of the decrease in agricultural lands that will nourish people, the crop losses caused by emerging new pests and diseases, climate change and environmental pollution, the development of alternative agricultural systems in order for the production needed to be made to feed people has become compulsory. Therefore, 'Vertical Farming Systems' which is one of the agricultural systems where the yield (harvest) to be received from the unit area is high, is progressing on the way to becoming an agricultural system that will rapidly develop in the future. However, for sustainable production and energy in this system engineering, architecture, technology and experiences are needed to be used all together. Thus, in this agricultural system, with advanced technology, production made in an area of 4000-30 000 m2 is being achieved in an area of 1000 m2; the risk of crop loss dependent on conditions like aridity, floods, pests and disease, etc. is eliminated. By virtue of the utilisation of renewable energy resources (solar, wind, etc.), environmental pollution and fossil fuel consumption decrease. Due to multiplex buildings and systems, it is enabled to carry out agriculture in the city center and healthy products are provided in the sense of food safety.
... In addition, the current food system is also facing many challenges, such as: 1) The application of industrial technology to new arable land destroys natural woodlands and grasslands, thus destroying natural ecosystems (Martin et al., 2016); 2) Modern agriculture, mainly characterized by mechanization, not only consumes a large amount of fossil energy but also consumes a large amount of fertilizer resources such as phosphorus and potassium, which speeds up the depletion of nonrenewable resources (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014); 3) Modern agriculture uses a large amount of pesticides and fertilizers, which has caused pollution to the atmosphere, soil and water sources, and also poses a serious threat to food safety (Thomaier et al., 2015). 4) Agricultural production (at rural areas) is far away from its consumer (in cities). ...
... Recently, the local food system is attracting more and more attention around the world due to its role in improving food self-sufficiency, food safety, human health and environmental sustainability (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014). Different from the traditional food system, the local food system emphasizes the reduction of transportation links in the food supply chain, the production of food in cities, and the use of urban sales networks to sell the food locally. ...
... The high cost of land and construction in cities is a challenge in locating a VF project (Sivamani et al., 2014). However, successful commercial cases have proofed that abandoned buildings and warehouses in the city can be reused for VF to save the cost (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014). Also, small scale VF can be located in cities in the form of a combination with residential buildings, commercial buildings, and office buildings, which may enhance the indoor environment quality by providing living greens and natural feelings, thereby increasing the value or rent of that property. ...
Sustainable cities are increasingly requiring local food systems. On the contrary, food self-sufficiency rate in many cities is continuously decreasing. In recent years, the concept of vertical farming (VF) has begun to show its advantages in providing a promising hope for alleviating this contradiction. However, there are few studies on the potential of VF on a city scale. This paper aims to assess the economic feasibility of an urban family vertical farming (UFVF) in Shanghai newly-built residential by modeling typical family planting mode, and using the evaluation software of vertical farms (VFer) software for calculation. Meanwhile, the influence of UFVF on the self-sufficiency rate of vegetables and fruits of households and the whole city is investigated. The results demonstrate that the UFVF contributes to increasing the self-sufficiency rate of vegetables and fruits by 20.68 % and 2.54 %, respectively, which could be important to enhance the resilience of local food system. Additionally, the return on investment of UFVF could achieve approximately 30 %. The proposed techno-economic model can assist to better predicting the small-scale VF on the urban scale, which provides a basis for decision-making on development of sustainable urban agriculture.
... Experts have estimated that more than five billion people will be located in urban areas by 2030 (Avgoustaki and Xydis 2020) and the total world's population will reach 9.8 billion by 2050 (Searchinger et al., 2019). And since each person needs at least 1500 calories a day to survive (Despommier 2009), we need to add another area of land for agriculture as large as Brazil (Cıceklı and Barlas 2014). Although the world's land faces have been changed by human activities for agricultural purposes (Ramankutty et al., 2008) and, right now, far more than the entire continent of Africa is under cultivation and agriculture (Despommier 2013), it is predicted that Earth will not be able to expand more than 2% of farm growth (Banerjee and Adenaeuer 2014). ...
... In addition, the larger volume of agricultural wastewater will escalate the water contamination and the areas affected by such contaminants (Despommier 2009). This will, in turn, disrupt our nutrition, the oceans and ultimately the life cycle, then making it impossible for future generations to feed (Cıceklı and Barlas 2014). ...
... The continuous increase of population in cities and towns (Avgoustaki and Xydis 2020), equally their growing food demands (Kalantari et al., 2018), climate change, rising global average temperatures and consequently pollution and desertification (Diaz-Mendez et al., 2018), on the other hand, changes in ocean levels shortage and dependence on arable lands (Cıceklı and Barlas 2014) and reduced natural resources (Besthorn 2013) demand and competition have all intensified over the acquisition of fertile lands (Albajes Garcia et al., 2013). Such increasing demand and concerns related to environmental issues have led humans, along with compliance with environmental principles (Besthorn 2013), to shift food production capacity to artificial systems such as greenhouses, modern, soilless farming and other new techniques. ...
Nowadays, the use of greenhouses and vertical farms has become increasingly commonplace due to compensating the crisis of food scarcity and fertile land for the world's growing population. The lack of free natural sunlight within the floors of such modern farms, however, has led to the application of artificial light as a common strategy to enhance food production. The energy supplied to produce this artificial light has increased the cost of food production. In this regard, the current study seeks to develop a new way to bring sunlight into vertical farms to reduce costs, avoid more energy consumption, and then increase the sustainability of food production. For this purpose, this experimental-applied research based on desk review focuses on the necessity of using sunlight in vertical farms, while adopting drawing and graphical software to illustrate how a variety of mirrors can transmit and distribute sunlight into vertical farms as a concept that applies to different latitudes. The proposed concept was tested quantitatively and qualitatively by constructing a physical model on a scale of one-twentieth at the latitude of 36.46° N, 52.86° E. This experiment showed that, in mentioned geographical position, the ratio of light supplied at a depth of a floor to unobstructed sunlight in the space around a vertical farm.
... VF has grown as a project which combines the design of building and farms all together in a high-rise building. VF is a system of growing crops in skyscrapers, to maximize the use of land by having a vertical design [2] whereby plants, animals, fungi and other life forms are cultivated for food, fuel, fiber… by artificially stacking them vertically above each other [5,6,7,8,9].Vertical farms are now used in a lot of countries. At present, these farms are largely grown and produce different types of crops inside cities [10,11]. ...
... It is processed and sprayed once more and the loop is closed [8]. Also, illustrated by Cikeli and Barlas's design, they mentioned the structure as some floors for example production floor, laboratory floor, carousel floor, system floor, poultry floor, and supermarket [9]. ...
... But, there is a need for further research about a wide range of ornamental plants. As an instance, just red light is used for lettuce [9]. There was a poor correspondence ...
Recently, the application of Vertical Farming into cities has increased. Vertical farming is a cultivating vegetable vertically by new agricultural methods, which combines the design of building and farms all together in a high-rise building inside the cities. This technology needs to be manifest both in the agricultural technique and architectural technology together, however, little has been published on the technology of Vertical Farming. In this study, technology as one of the important factor of Vertical farming is discussed and reviewed by qualitative approach. In the first, identifying existing and future VF projects in Europe, Asia, and America from 2009 to 2016. Then a comprehensive literature reviewed on technologies and techniques that are used in VF projects. The study resources were formed from 62 different source from 2007 to 2016. The technologies offered can be a guide for implementation development and planning for innovative and farming industries of Vertical Farming in cities. In fact, it can act as a basis for evaluating prospective agriculture and architecture together. The integration of food production into the urban areas have been seen as a connection to the city and its residents. It simultaneously helps to reduce poverty, adds to food safety, and increases contextual sustainability and human well-being.
... Furthermore, other means by which VF saves energy is in reduced transportation, temperature reduction, power saving, reduction in processing and packing as well as renewal energy among urban/local areas and industrial or agriculture areas. This can be manifested in how they utilize surplus heat, cooling water and carbon dioxide from the industrial sectors in greenhouses (Ahlström & Zahra, 2011;Cicekli & Barlas, 2014;Miller, 2011;. ...
... As part of an initiative plan suggested by Despommier (2010), instead of releasing wastewater into rivers, it can be used for VF irrigation, where the wastewater is purified and recycled and water drainage will not be necessary. So, the gray or black water can be purified in vertical farms and converted to drinkable water through evapotranspiration (Banerjee & Adenaeuer, 2014;Besthorn, 2013;Cicekli & Barlas, 2014;Despommier, 2009Despommier, , 2010Thomaier et al., 2015;Voss, 2013). Green Sense Farms in Indiana and AeroFarms in New Jersey are using this technique to recycle water in their vertical farms. ...
... This was further demonstrated in a study carried out by Perez (2011), where they reported that products harvested annually through VF amounts to 470 tons per acre, and 23 times more lettuce is produced by VF than in the same amount of space in conventional farms (Cicekli & Barlas, 2014;Perez, 2014). Thus in VF, space is utilized more efficiently, each closed-space acre is equivalent to 4-6 acres of open field depending on the type of crop. ...
As the world population continues to grow at a rapid rate, accompanied by a substantial growth in food demand which is expected to transpire in the next 50 years, 80 % of the population will be living in urban areas. In order to feed this growing population, there is a need for sustainable urban food. Producing sustainable urban food requires considering all factors of sustainability collectively including, environmental, social and economic advancement. A new method that has been proposed to address the issue of sustainability and to meet the growing food demand is, designing and implementing vertical farms. Vertical farming is a concept that involves cultivating plants with livestock on vertically inclined surfaces such as in skyscrapers in urban areas, where there is a lack of available land and space. However, there is a paucity of information and a limited number of published critical reviews on Vertical farming in urban areas. This study, in an attempt to review the major opportunities and challenges of Vertical Farming, uses the framework of sustainability to examine the role of it in prospective food provision in cities. This study is a critical review of 60 documents from related published papers from relevant journals and scientific online databases. Vertical Farming can be potentially beneficial in increasing food production, maintaining high quality and safety and contributing to sustainable urban farming. Well-known advantages of growing food within the urban territory can be beneficial environmentally, socially and economically. Vertical farms can also provide solutions for increasing food security worldwide.
... Shrinking and degrading of arable land and rapid increasing food demand might be dealt by soilless culture which enables crop production without soil (Arumugam et al., 2021;Waiba et al., 2020). Most studies on soilless culture have dealt with its applicability (Cicekli & Barlas, 2014), setup (Jayachandran et al., 2022;Pascual et al., 2018), production potential , challenges and opportunities (Fussy & Papenbrock, 2022;Kalantari et al., 2018), and affordability (Gibbons, 2020;Zaini et al., 2018). Limited or less organized information is available on its role in reducing land pressure and degradation (Muller et al., 2017), and crop protection from agricultural pests and climate-related risks (Eigenbrod & Gruda, 2015). ...
... Soilless culture provides better nutritional quality (bioactive compounds, macro-and micronutrients), and antioxidant activities compared to soil-based farming (Aires, 2018;Cicekli & Barlas, 2014) with longer shelf-life which indicates consumers may prefer and pay more for soilless based produced food (Pinstrup-Andersen, 2018). This improvement in nutritional quality and shelf life is mainly due to its controlled system to amount and composition of nutrients and environmental conditions light and temperature (Aires, 2018;Barman et al., 2016;Sakamoto & Suzuki, 2020). ...
Use of farmlands for food production is under pressure and providing food for a growing population is a global concern due to alternative land use and degradation, pest infestations, urbanization and industrialization which led to climate change and encroaches arable land; especially in drylands where water, fertilizer, land, and other farm input resources are scares and needs to be utilized efficiently to enhance crop yields. Soilless culture technology reduces the challenges facing in soil-based farming which could lower yields. Improving food production and access could be possible using soilless culture. However, limited and incomplete information is available to indicate the role of soilless culture in reducing land pressure and degradation in drylands. This review aimed to examine the role of soilless culture as climate change occurs to transform dryland vegetable farming, reduce land pressure and degradation. Data gathered from relevant and recently published peer-reviewed papers and converted into uniform measurement units,
... To deal with this situation, there is a need to find more sophisticated cultivation methods to integrate with existing cultivation methods to maintain the market's demand and supply chain. Vertical farming, in conjunction with the use of other advanced technologies, achieves production in 1000 m 2 which is nearly equal to that of 4000À30,000 m 2 in outside conditions (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014). Furthermore, the combination of vertical farming systems in skyscrapers is capable of forming an advanced modern agriculture system (Al-Chalabi, 2015). ...
... Another benefit of vertical farming is that the plants can grow throughout the year dissimilar to conventional farming, which is capable of simply producing crop at particular times (Sivamani et al., 2013). Perez (2014) observed that items gathered annually through vertical farming amount to 470 tons per acre and that vertical farming produces 23 times more lettuce in a similar amount of land as traditional farms (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014). As a result, in vertical farming, more efficient space utilization is done. ...
... Green Walls are vertical or inclined grow towers located in places such as the facades of buildings (Figure 1(e)). Cylindrical growth units are systems in which plants are grown one above the other around the surface of vertical cylindrical units capable of house a nutrient supply (soil or hydroponic substrate) and located within a greenhouse or control environment facility (Figure 1 Vertical farm can be a strategy to achieve the goals of sustainable development, advocated by the UN, to end poverty, promote prosperity and well-being for all, in addition to protecting the environment and facing changes climatic (Cicekli & Barlas, 2014). ...
... Greenhouse technology must be transformed into a vertical farming system, but for this to happen, research and projects that address such development are necessary (Cicekli & Barlas, 2014). ...
The objective of this study was to demonstrate the importance of the vertical farm as an alternative for the supply of food to the world population, mainly, in the countries where the scarcity of land is evident. We linked the use of the vertical farm with the objectives of sustainable developments developed by United Nations (UN) in the fight against hunger and social inequalities in the world. A search was carried out in the databases Pubmed, Web of Science and specialized sites, using the words, vertical farm, fight against hunger and food production. According to the articles found, we could conclude that the use of the vertical farm can bring great advances in improving the supply of food to the low-income population; however, there is a need for budgetary adequacy for the implementation and operation of the entire system, being that in in some cases the costs are very high. This causes a certain skepticism in its viability. The collaboration of government agencies, non-governmental organizations and private initiative with financial support for the creation of vertical farms is essential
... As part of the same sustainable evolution, European cities are increasingly becoming loci for socio-technical experimentations, including technologies, novel modes of organization, food systems, networking, and collaboration to help societies adapt and become more resilient to climate change. Cities are, however, also known to have a history of distancing natural ecosystems and biodiversity problems (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014;Classens, 2015;Durrant et al., 2018;Giacchè and Porto, 2018;Boossabong, 2019;Hennchen and Pregernig, 2020;Schoen et al., 2020) and the current renaissance of the phenomenon of Urban Agriculture (UA) twists the cities historical reputation and shows how to re-kindle nature, society and technologies within sustainable urban food systems (Thornbush, 2015;Sanyé-Mengual et al., 2016;Berthet and Hickey, 2018;Giacchè and Porto, 2018). A few Horizon Europe projects recently demonstrate this new interest for cities as core contributors to sustainability and resilience, e.g., SiEUGreen 1 , Efua 2 , Urban Allotment Gardens 3 , and fusilli-project. ...
... These studies stress that adopting new and greener technologies in urban agriculture will enable the transition toward more sustainable and circular cities. In the future, the adoption of these technologies has the potential to ensure food supply (or food security) and its sustainability, equal access to quality food and reduce the stress on agricultural soils and land (Anthopoulos and Vakali, 2012;Cicekli and Barlas, 2014;Mancebo, 2016;Ramaswami et al., 2016;de Amorim et al., 2019;Jürkenbeck et al., 2019;van de Vlasakker and Veen, 2020). These studies emphasize the within scale dynamics and the temporal dynamics concerning the use of high-tech to lead to future sustainable improvements in UA. ...
This paper explores and sheds light on the elements, complexity, and dynamics of sociocultural adaptation to innovation and climate change in European Urban Agriculture. We use a scoping-exploratory review to search and unveil elements of sociocultural adaptation (SCA) in the existing literature on European urban agriculture. We categorize these elements into three main categories. This categorization can inform and be further explored, operationalized, and developed in new case-study-based research and serve as a starting point to better understand social adaptation to innovation and climate change in urban contexts, and beyond. Key results draw attention to (a) socio-technical and socio-ecological innovations as critical to sociocultural adaptation to innovation and climate change (b) some elements of SCA identified through the scoping review seem more central than others for the adaption process (c) we are left with the question of whether we need to bridge social science with biology sciences, such as human behavioral biology and neurobiology to find the answer to deeper questions about SCA.
... As the application of indoor farming technologies takes place in several regions of the world-mainly in Asian (42%), European (30%) and North American (21%) countries-the market is expected to reach a global value of 5.80 billion USD by 2022 [7]. From a production perspective, indoor farming systems allow for increasing yields (up to 23-fold, as compared to traditional agriculture [8]), improved food quality [9], and greater production stability due to enhanced resilience to climatic events as compared with traditional agricultural systems [6]. The potential for reducing land use for agriculture is associated with both the possibility to explore the vertical dimension allowed by the use of artificial lighting [6], the possibilities offered for year-round production [10], and the potential reconversion of abandoned or unused buildings into agricultural systems [11]. ...
... The potential for reducing land use for agriculture is associated with both the possibility to explore the vertical dimension allowed by the use of artificial lighting [6], the possibilities offered for year-round production [10], and the potential reconversion of abandoned or unused buildings into agricultural systems [11]. Furthermore, the environmental sustainability of crop production is increased by avoiding or limiting the use of pesticides or herbicides [8] and improving water and nutrient use efficiency [12]. On the other hand, a number of questions arises on the sustainability of indoor plant cultivation with reference to energy use, particularly regarding the energy needs associated with artificial lighting [13]. ...
Notwithstanding that indoor farming is claimed to reduce the environmental pressures of food systems, electricity needs are elevated and mainly associated with lighting. To date, however, no studies have quantified the environmental and economic profile of Light Emitting Diodes (LED) lighting in indoor farming systems. The goal of this study is to quantify the effect of varying the red (R) and blue (B) LED spectral components (RB ratios of 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 4) on the eco-efficiency of indoor production of lettuce, chicory, rocket and sweet basil from a life cycle perspective. The functional unit of the assessment was 1 kg of harvested fresh plant edible product, and the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) method was employed for impact assessment. Even though most of the materials of the LED lamp and electronic elements were imported from long distances (14,400 km), electricity consumption was the largest contributor to the environmental impacts (with the LED lamps being the main electricity consumers, approximately 70%), apart from the resources use indicator, where the materials of the lamps and the mineral nutrients were also relevant. RB0.5 was the most energy-efficient light treatment but had the lowest eco-efficiency scores due to the lower crop yields.
... These include subjects such as vertical farming's social prospect, place of vertical farming in the future of agriculture, and the prospects for implementing vertical farming systems. Cicekli et al. (2014) explore the concept of replacing greenhouse farming structures with vertical farming systems in big metropolitan areas. Besthorn (2013) focuses on examining the qualitative potentials of vertical farming from a social and humanities perspective. ...
The sustainability issues surrounding conventional agriculture motivate the need for exploring new sustainable methods of farming, critical for global sustainable development. Vertical farming is a potentially underexplored component of sustainable food production portfolio. This paper offers the first quantitative model in the environmental economics and policy literature that evaluates the economic prospect of vertical farming systems in a competitive market setting. Our framework identifies the principal factors to assess the economic and risk aversion potential of vertical farming and utilize a decision model quantify the trade-off between the two alternative farming practices. The model is utilized to evaluate the competitive economic prospect of vertical farming in seven locations with heterogeneous climate and economic conditions within the USA. The results quantify the value proposition of vertical farming in various conditions. Consequently, we leverage these results to evaluate the current and future prospect of the vertical farming industry.
Graphical abstract
... Biowaste is comprised of dead leaves, parts of stems, fibrous roots, dead fruits, and vegetables and can be converted into organic fertilizers, biofuels, and liquid organic nutrients. Waste water treatment can also make water in reusable conditions using a SlurryCarb machine [5]. ...
The depletion of usable agricultural lands has brought up a scenario of vertical farming. This type of farming is mostly considered soil-less farming in the vertical direction. Three of the commonly used soil-less ways for vertical farming include hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic. Although it is not very popular in developing countries, investment has been made by many European counties and efforts to use vertical farming as a commercial product are on the path to success. Food security issues can be addressed through this farming type as well.
... In general, year-round production of crops using conventional farming approaches is more challenging if not impractical in some cases because of seasonal changes and differences in crop adaptations. Cicekli and Barlas [21] reported that 23 times more lettuce can be produced in a vertical indoor farm compared to the same land space in conventional farms. Besides, consumer interest in local foods is increasing and as a result, the market share of IF is rapidly growing in the produce industry because of its ability to meet the unmet demands for produce grown locally [7]. ...
As the world’s population is increasing exponentially, human diets have changed to less healthy foods resulting in detrimental health complications. Increasing vegetable intake by both rural and urban dwellers can help address this issue. However, these communities often face the challenge of limited vegetable supply and accessibility. More so, open field vegetable production cannot supply all the vegetable needs because biotic and abiotic stress factors often hinder production. Alternative approaches such as vegetable production in greenhouses, indoor farms, high tunnels, and screenhouses can help fill the gap in the supply chain. These alternative production methods provide opportunities to use less resources such as land space, pesticide, and water. They also make possible the control of production factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide, as well as extension of the growing season. Some of these production systems also make the supply and distribution of nutrients to crops easier and more uniform to enhance crop growth and yield. This paper reviews these alternative vegetable production approaches which include hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics and soilless mixes to reveal the need for exploring them further to increase crop production. The paper also discusses facilities used, plant growth factors, current challenges including energy costs and prospects.
... Recent studies have hypothesized that raising poultry inside VF increases production and that farms can be used to grow livestock fodder. (Campbell & Farmer, 2021;Cicekli & Barlas, 2014) 2015); and c) the Tokyo Headquarter of Pasona project redesigned an old building by integrating office spaces with large hydroponics areas to produce food, enhance employee health, and improve energy efficiency (Allen, 2013;Meinhold, 2013). Furthermore, many proposals to integrate ...
Can skyscrapers survive after COVID-19? Can the idea of integrating vertical farming (VF) into vertical architecture support the environmental, economic, and social issues in the post-pandemic era? Answering these questions is the main objective of this study. Therefore, it explores a) the impact of the pandemic on the built environment, especially skyscrapers; b) the challenges facing the survival of skyscrapers; c) the design parameters and main components of VF; and d) the expected feasibility of integrating VF into vertical architecture to reduce the effects of the pandemic. The research concludes that the skyscraper-integrated vertical farming (SIVF) paradigm can create a closed ecosystem that preserves the environment by a) supporting food security, b) improving indoor environmental quality, c) enhancing psychological and physical health, d) saving energy, e) reducing greenhouse gas emissions and releasing oxygen, and f) supporting the local economy. Consequently, the SIVF paradigm can inaugurate an innovative approach that provides insights into new research trends and discoveries. However, further constraints in the adoption of SIVF should be addressed, and collaborations between researchers and multidisciplinary experts must be created to achieve suitable solutions.
KEYWORDS
COVID-19; skyscrapers; vertical architecture; vertical farming; food security; skyscraper-integrated vertical farming
... Monoculture can only produce one crop at a time in traditional farming, whereas vertical farming allows various types of crops to be grown simultaneously on separate levels. Moreover, with vertical farming techniques, crops can be grown all year round, unlike traditional farming, which can only be done at specific times of the year (Platt, 2007; Sivamani et al., 2013).When it comes to yield output, vertical farming produces 470 tons per acre, which is 23 times more lettuce than traditional farming in the same amount of space(Cicekli and Barlas, 2014;Perez, 2014).The growth cycle is also important. The harvest period for romaine lettuce cultivated outdoors is between 55 and 70 days(Avgoustaki et al., 2020b), whereas, in vertical farming, lettuce can be harvested 28 days after seeding(Jayalath et al., 2021). ...
This assessment is shining light on how vertical farming could help in solving these issues. To
summarize, vertical farming uses technology to efficiently and cheaply grow food in a circular
economy, with minimal waste, and no soil required. The present still presents challenges,
however, the future will decrease the costs and efficiency of the processes required to grow
more energy-intensive foods such as berries, vegetables, legumes, etc. As of now, we are
limited to mushrooms, leafy greens, and in some cases even tomatoes and strawberries.
As the societal framework is in constant change, moving towards automation I see vertical
farms as the next “office job”.
... Most of scholarly work in this area focus on the technology and design aspects of Vertical Farming [7], [8]. Some researchers have addressed the qualitative pros and cons of implementing [9], [10]. Only a few scholars have explored this subject from an economic point of view, generally as numerical case studies [11]. ...
ID: 789445 Abstract Vertical Farming systems may have the potential to provide a sustainable, environmentally friendly, and financially competitive food alternative. However, most vertical farming ventures in today's world are pretty small in scale compared to other types of agriculture. As a result, the technology has not reached its most efficient state. Also, vertical farming can be energy and labor-intensive. This makes it hard for its products to compete in some conditions with those of regular agriculture, which benefit from better cost efficiency due to large scales and many years of optimization. Hence, the economic feasibility of implementing vertical farming systems in a competitive market is questionable. This paper proposes a theoretical framework model for financial analysis of Vertical Farming systems with respect to traditional agriculture. This framework includes defining the relevant static and stochastic states and parameters, identifying the relation among defined parameters, formulating a financial, and proposing a stochastic model that can be used to identify the most profitable, least risky, and least environmentally hazardous states of Vertical Farming implementation.
... Traditionally farmed land consumes a large amount of fossil fuel, with ploughs, seeds, harvesters, fertilizers, and other practices accounting for as much as 20% of the total fossil fuel consumption in North America (Caplow 2009 and Despommier 2011) [23,32] . Because the vertical farm encourages people to live a "local for local" lifestyle, it can reduce food travel distance (food-miles) (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014; Grewal and Grewal 2012 and Voss 2013) [26,55,138] . In traditional farming, the average distance food travels is 1500 miles. ...
... The orange cluster focuses on technologies for developing alternative agriculture, which is needed due to a decrease in agricultural land, crop losses caused by the emergence of new pests and diseases, and climate change and environmental pollution (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014). The technologies appear to be necessary for building sustainable urban food ecosystems. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the literature on vertical farming to define key elements to outline a business model for entrepreneurs. The research aims to stimulate entrepreneurship for vertical farming in a smart cities' context, recognising urban agriculture as technology to satisfy increasing food needs.
Design/methodology/approach
The research conducts a structured literature review on 186 articles on vertical farming extracted from the Scopus. Moreover, the bibliometric analysis revealed the descriptive statistics on this field and the main themes through the authors' keywords.
Findings
Different perspectives showed the multidisciplinary nature of the topic and how the intersection of different skills is necessary to understand the subject entirely. The keywords analysis allowed for identifying the topics covered by the authors and the business model's elements.
Research limitations/implications
The research explores a topic in the embryonic stage to define key strands of literature. It provides business model insights extending George and Bock's (2011) research to stimulate entrepreneurship in vertical farming. Limitations arise from the sources used to develop our analysis and how the topic appears as a frontier innovation.
Originality/value
Originality is the integration of literature strands related to vertical farming, highlighting its multidisciplinary nature to provide a holistic understanding of the themes. In smart cities' context, innovations allow traditional business models to be interpreted in a novel perspective and revealed the elements for transforming vertical farming from innovative technology to an effective source of food sustenance. Finally, the paper suggests a new methodology application for the analysis of word clusters by integrating correspondence analysis and multidimensional scaling analysis.
... These include subjects like vertical farming's social prospect, place of vertical farming in the future agriculture industry trends, and prospects for implementing vertical farming systems. (Cıceklı & Barlas, 2014) explore the concept of replacing greenhouse farming structures with vertical farming systems in big metropolitan areas. (Besthorn, 2012) focuses on assessing the qualitative potentials of Vertical Farming from a Social Studies perspective, not entirely relevant to our subject of study, but an interesting subject of study, nonetheless. ...
There are various problems associated with our conventional practice of farming. Agriculture is responsible for mass deforestation. The world is facing a water crisis, and farming is responsible for using 80% of its freshwater. Also, the prospect of global climate change is projecting a much riskier future for practices of conventional farming. One could argue that these alarming problems might someday be treated as more imminent as the population grows, less fertile land becomes available, and the effects of global climate change become more apparent. Vertical farming solves a lot of the mentioned issues associated with traditional farming by using considerably less water, requiring less land, and not relying on the environmental conditions whatsoever. However, vertical farming is also energy and labor intensive and can be quite expensive in some cases. This study works to quantitatively model and evaluate the economic prospect of vertical farming as a business venture in a competitive marketplace under different circumstances. A generalized quantitative framework to evaluate vertical farming with respect to traditional farming is developed. Then, the developed framework is employed for a case study to evaluate the merits of vertical farming in several locations around the US by measuring the relative profit and risk. The results quantify the value proposition of the practice in various conditions and help evaluate the current and future prospect the vertical farming industry.
... Dikey tarıma dair 2007-2016 arası yapılan 62 çalışmanın incelendiği bir derlemede birçok ülkenin kentlerinde çok katlı bina içleri ve teraslarında, eski fabrika içlerinde, boş arazilerde, park alanlarında, market ve restoranlarda oluşturulan, bitki ve hayvan yetiştirme, temizleme ve nakliye katlarını da içerebilen birçok farklı modelin uygulamaya konduğu görülmektedir [17]. Çiçekli ve Barlas, dikey tarım için planladıkları yeşil ev modelinde atlıkarınca hareketli üretim katlarına ek olarak yönetim, laboratuvar ve kümes katları ile market alanları oluşturmuşlar, topraklı tarımla 4000-30.000m 2 'lik alandan elde edilen ürünün dikey tarımla 1000m 2 'lik bir alandan elde edilebileceğini göstermişlerdir [18]. ...
Dikey tarım, geleneksel tarımdaki gibi geniş tarlalara, toprağa ve iklimsel döngülere ihtiyaç duymadan ürün yetiştirmeye olanak sağlayan teknolojik bir tarım yöntemidir. Bu yöntem su, tarım ilacı, gübre, işçilik, ekipman, enerji ve nakliye giderlerinin düşük, verimin ve kalitenin ise yüksek olması, eş zamanlı hayvancılık yapılabilmesi, şehrin mimarisinde ve havasında iyileşme sağlaması, kent insanının tarıma ilgisini ve katkısını artıracak olması nedenleriyle giderek önem kazanmaktadır. 2050 yılında dünya nüfusunun 10 milyar olacağı, küresel ısınma nedeniyle ekolojik dengenin daha da bozulup verimli toprak alanlarının hızla azalacağı öngörüldüğünden birçok ülke bu tarım yöntemini aktif bir biçimde uygulamaya başlamıştır. Başlangıç yatırım maliyetleri yüksek olsa da uzun vadede ekonomiye, ekolojiye ve sosyal entegrasyona katkısı yönünden sürdürülebilirliği yüksek olan bu tarım uygulaması geleceğin en önemli tarım endüstrisi olacaktır. Sürdürülebilir tarım yönünden önemli olan bu yöntem için ülkemizde de acilen devlet politikalarında ve yasal konularda düzenlemeler yapılmalı, finansal kaynak ayrılmalı, akademisyenlerin, özel sektörün, belediyelerin, çiftçilerin ve kent toplumunun sürece katılımları sağlanmalıdır.
ABSTRACT Vertical farming is a technological farming method that allows to grow crops without the need for large fields, soil and climatic cycles as in traditional agriculture. This method is becoming increasingly important due to the fact that water, pesticides, fertilizers, labor, equipment, energy and transportation costs are low, efficiency and quality are high, livestock can be carried out simultaneously, it improves the architecture and air of the city, and it will increase the interest and contribution of the city people to agriculture. Since it is predicted that the world population will be 10 billion in 2050, the ecological balance will deteriorate further and fertile land areas will rapidly decrease due to global warming, many countries have started to actively apply this agricultural method. Although the initial investment costs are high, this agricultural practice, which has high sustainability in terms of its contribution to the economy, ecology and social integration in the long term, will be the most important agricultural industry of the future. For this method, which is important in terms of sustainable agriculture, arrangements should be made in state policies and legal issues, financial resources should be allocated in our country, and the participation of academics, private sector, municipalities, farmers and urban society in the process should be ensured.
... Traditional farming uses lots of fossil fuel; for example, conventional farming in North America consumes 20% of fossil fuel due to plowing, seeding, harvesting, fertilizing and so on [82,83]. The vertical farm can also reduce food travel distance (food miles) by promoting "local for local" life style (i.e., distances between food production and consumption are minimized) [84][85][86]. As mentioned previously, in conventional farming, food travels on average 1500 miles. ...
Environmental Management of Air, Water, Agriculture, and Energy brings together the most current state of knowledge on four major elements for sustaining life on planet Earth: air, water, food, and energy. It examines how green technology aids in mitigating the global water, energy, and climate change crises, including the use of electrostatic force and green infrastructure. The concepts of underwater vegetation and aquatic cultivation, as well as vertical farms, are presented to spark discussion on emerging water-energy-food nexus lessons, experiences, and opportunities. This book takes a comprehensive global-scale approach to examining potential future environmental scenarios and outcomes. This book analyzes the most recent research findings in each of the areas covered, synthesizes the state-of-the-art understanding, recommends ways to strive forward and to shape future research, and serves as an educational tool for educators and students. Supported by detailed examples and case studies, this book serves not only as an up-to-date source of information for environmental experts and researchers in the field, but also as an educational tool for relevant undergraduate and graduate courses. It is also suitable for industry professionals concerned with preserving planet Earth for generations to come.
... To cope with this situation, we need to find more sophisticated methods of cultivations which we can be used solely or along with the current methods of cultivation so as to maintain the demand-supply chain of market and there comes the vertical farming to our rescue. In vertical farming along with the use of other advance technologies the production which is achieved in 1000 m 2 is almost equal to outside 4000 -30,000 m 2 (Cicekli M. & Barlas N.T, 2014) [7] . And the amalgamation of the vertical farming system in skyscrapers or as greenhouse effect together can result in formation of high-tech agriculture system (Malek Al-Chalabi, 2015) [2] . ...
Continuous rising population is necessitating the maximization of food production per unit area i.e. productivity. There has been already well known different advance methods like aquaponics, nutrient film technique (NFT), aeroponics, etc. but they do not have that much good land utilization. So, to conciliate this land problem vertical farming was introduced. It utilizes the vertical unused space which or else left unused in other farming systems. This can also facilitates the peoples to get the fresh cut vegetables regularly. Moreover, nowadays peoples are showing their keen interest towards their health and to meet their healthy food requirements, salad vegetables are the best options as due to nutritional values. The vegetables have high number of health benefits. They are rich sources of minerals, vitamins and various bioflavonoids which are essential for the growth and development of human beings. The vegetables can also be eaten raw in form of salad. The vegetables are also suited best under this structure as these are short duration and provides high net returns. These can be grown by using various growing substrates viz. perlite, coco-peat, vermiculite etc. to enable fast growing and high yield.
... As stated by Cicekli (2014), the rise of vertical farms is inevitable, as IUVF systems, among other things, recycle water for irrigation without concern for outdoor environmental conditions, thus improving product quality, sustainability, and efficiency by means of eco-friendly techniques. According to Kozai (2016), water consumption in a PFAL is around 2% in comparison with the one of greenhouses. ...
In recent years, several global issues related to food waste, increasing CO2 emissions, water pollution, over-fertilization, deforestation, loss of arable land, food security, and energy storage have emerged. Climate change urgently needs to be addressed from an ecological and social perspective. Implementing new indoor urban vertical farming (IUVF) operations is one way to combat the above-mentioned issues as well as foodborne illnesses, scarcity of drinking water, and more crop failure due to infection from plant pathogens and insect pests. A promising production mode is plant factories (PFs), which are indoor plant production systems completely isolated from outside environment. This paper mainly focuses on the comprehensive review of scientific papers in order to analyse the different applications of urban farming (UF) based on three different dimensions: a) the manufacturing techniques and equipment used; b) the energy that these systems require, the distribution of energy, and ways to minimize the energy-related cost; and c) the technological innovations applied in order to optimize the cultivation possibilities of IUVF.
... Vertical farming has increased in popularity in recent years due to more affordable and efficient artificial LED lighting (Morrow, 2008;Stutte, 2015), as well as the demand from consumers to have their food grown closer to home. Extending crop production to the vertical dimension can produce 4-30 times higher yields than conventional in-field agriculture per unit area, and installation in city centers can greatly reduce or even eliminate distribution costs (Cicekli and Barlas, 2014;Touliatos et al., 2016). Existing "agtech" startups in the U.S. claim to have reduced water usage by 90-99% with no pesticide applications, doing this in a fraction of the land area and with year-round production (ref: ...
Vertical farming has been proposed as a solution for providing food security for an increasing, urbanized human population. Light-emitting diode (LED) technology has become increasingly affordable and efficient, making it an ideal choice as artificial lighting for indoor farms. Still largely undiscovered parameters are the optimal plant varieties and types of production systems for plant growth, profit, and human nutrition. Aquaponics may be able to provide sustainable animal protein for vertical farms, increasing their ability to provide more substantial nutrition to consumers. This research aimed to better understand vertical farming as a food production system, and to determine if aquaponics can be an appropriate and applicable fit for it. The experiment was a randomized, factorial design with three independent variables: (1) LED photoperiod interval (2) LED-plant distance, and (3) nutrient solution, as well as several dependent variables to assess both plant yield and quality. A 4-tiered shelving unit was constructed for nutrient film technique (NFT) plant production, and treatments were assigned to each row: (1) LED experiment: Row A, 12/12hr reduced photoperiod with adjustable LEDs 4in. above plant surface; Row B, 2/1hr altered photoperiod interval relative to the control; Row C (control), 16/8hr “standard” photoperiod. (2) Nutrient experiment: Row C, aquaponic nutrient solution; Row H, hydroponic nutrient solution. Rows C and H had matched photoperiod and light intensity. Kale from Row A had significantly lower fresh and dry plant yield relative to the control, Row C (p<0.05). Hydroponic romaine, Row H, had significantly higher plant yield relative to aquaponics, Row C (p<0.05). Butterhead yields were not significantly different in any treatments (p>0.05). Future research may implement a larger sample size of only one plant variety, harvest plants earlier, limit light intensity variation, effectively “balance” the aquaponics system, and have more measures of plant “quality.”
... Traditional farming uses lots of fossil fuel; for example, conventional farming in North America consumes 20% of fossil fuel due to plowing, seeding, harvesting, fertilizing and so on [82,83]. The vertical farm can also reduce food travel distance (foodmiles) by promoting "local for local" life style, i.e., distances between food production and consumption are minimized [84][85][86]. As mentioned earlier, in conventional farming, food travels on average 1500 miles. ...
This paper discusses the emerging need for vertical farms by examining issues related to food security, urban population growth, farmland shortages, “food miles”, and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Urban planners and agricultural leaders have argued that cities will need to produce food internally to respond to demand by increasing population and to avoid paralyzing congestion, harmful pollution, and unaffordable food prices. The paper examines urban agriculture as a solution to these problems by merging food production and consumption in one place, with the vertical farm being suitable for urban areas where available land is limited and expensive. Luckily, recent advances in greenhouse technologies such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics have provided a promising future to the vertical farm concept. These high-tech systems represent a paradigm shift in farming and food production and offer suitable and efficient methods for city farming by minimizing maintenance and maximizing yield. Upon reviewing these technologies and examining project prototypes, we find that these efforts may plant the seeds for the realization of the vertical farm. The paper, however, closes by speculating about the consequences, advantages, and disadvantages of the vertical farm’s implementation. Economic feasibility, codes, regulations, and a lack of expertise remain major obstacles in the path to implementing the vertical farm.
... International organisations, such as the International Energy Agency, encourage the use of biomass waste and residues for energy production because it can generate profit, contribute to the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and help communities to diversify their energy sources and achieve energy independency without threatening the world food supply 8,9 . ...
Research on the use of biomass contribution to the sustainable development of the studied areas was performed worldwide, the impact being assessed on three components: economic, social and environmental. In Romania, the highest potential in renewable energy production is biomass. In this paper, we present our studies that assessed or optimised the economic, social and environmental aspects of the implementation of CEFA project, biogas plant producing by anaerobic digestion of biomass, as a model and an opportunity to boost sustainable development in Romania. This technology was studied, grant financed and applied on the first time in Romania through this project. Nevertheless, there is a recent trend to integrate economic, environmental and social aspects in the assessment and optimisation of biomass supply chains. The conclusion is that biomass brings significant contributions to sustainable development, at least due to the following aspects: protects natural anthropic resources, contribute to environmental protection by neutralizing many organic materials, stimulate works and creating new jobs, farmers boosting in diversifying agricultural production in terms of biomass production.
Vertical farming is a groundbreaking agricultural approach that maximizes space utilization and resource efficiency by cultivating crops in stacked layers within controlled indoor environments. This innovative technique utilizes technology such as LED lighting, hydroponics and climate control to optimize conditions for plant growth. Vertical farming offers numerous benefits, including space efficiency, reduced water usage, year-round crop production, minimized pesticide use and decreased food miles. However, it also presents challenges such as high initial costs and energy consumption. This article explores the origins, purposes, global adoption, benefits, limitations, types, vegetable selection, equipment and future prospects of vertical farming.
Meeting the food needs will be one of the major problems, as farmland is being lost due to causes including soil contamination, water scarcity, and climate change, among others. In this situation, a workable alternative to manage this perennial problem is provided by vertical farming, an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly agricultural technology that does not use soil. Vertical farming could indeed be an important factor in the production of crops and vegetables in regions with scarce soil and water resources. With modern technology such as hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics, the idea of a vertical farm appears to have a promising future. In times of pandemics like COVID-19, it has emerged as a viable option for growing a wide range of food crops to suit the dietary needs of the growing world population.
Food production is an essential operation where production and resource efficiency are low compared to other sectors. With the unstoppable growth of the world population, agricultural production is under pressure to meet the increasing food demand. Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) is a successful solution to create sustainable and resilient development through sustainable cities. CEA, where the farming activities are isolated from the meteorological conditions, is one of the most powerful solutions to adapt and mitigate climate change in urban areas. Vertical farming (VF) is also an indoor plant manufacturing process. In VF, plants are grown in layers and can thus reach high. The system can entirely be designed without any dependence on sunlight or other outdoor resources. However, there are a significant number of drawbacks about VF in the literature, such as limited products and labor costs, etc. This study focused on generating the VF area’s main challenges and wanted to create a roadmap to overcome these challenges. Existing VF challenges are gathered from experts and related literature. Possible solutions to overcome these limitations are derived from the literature as well. The process is approached as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) procedure. The House of Quality (HoQ) of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is suggested to investigate the relationships between solutions and challenges. The HoQ method also allows for prioritizing the potential solutions to generate a roadmap for practitioners. Plus, the methodology extends the QFD model with the 2-tuple linguistic model to overcome the vagueness by supplying linguistic sets to decision-makers (DMs) to assess via semantics closer to the human cognitive process. That helps to improve the accuracy of the linguistic computations and interpretability of the results. Also, it creates a flexible environment for DMs. A case study is applied for Turkey, and sensitivity analyses are presented to test the suggested methodology’s robustness.
In as early as the 1980s, air traffic flow management actions (ATFM), as supplementary strategies to match the demand for air travel with the available resource capacities, have been widely discussed and evaluated based on its implementation and probable trade-offs between conflicting and diverse interests of stakeholders in the commercial aviation industry. Among the ATFM actions—ground holding, airborne holding, speed controlling, and rerouting—rerouting is found to be a viable recourse particularly when flights are already at its en-route phase, where the presumed and more favored based on safety considerations, holding of flights on the ground, becomes completely infeasible. Some research works put forward relevant solution approaches including deterministic and stochastic mathematical programming models, machine learning algorithms, and simulation models. Despite the relevance and validity demonstrated by such models in testbed environments, even on a large-scale basis, these models failed to sufficiently capture the individual and collective interests of stakeholders altogether. Considering that the decision process in the air transportation system is taken part by stakeholders (i.e., airlines, air traffic control), previous research works tend to satisfy only one stakeholder by incorporating one or more of its interests (e.g., cost minimization, reduction of distance traveled). Such a case does not take full regard to how a stakeholder-specific solution might affect another stakeholder’s preference. Therefore, this paper aims to address the post-departure aircraft rerouting problem by proposing a multiple stakeholder-based target-oriented robust-optimization (MS-TORO) approach that incorporates the individual interests of stakeholders. A hypothetical case study is conducted to illustrate the proposed model. It can be noted that a significant shift of route preference occurs as goals are aligned in terms of the individual interests of the stakeholders and that of their collective goal. The results of this work can provide practical insights to stakeholders in the course of decision-making in a particular area of the air transportation domain.
В першому розділі розглядаються передумови та історія виникнення вертикальних ферм, наведено статистику, яка визначила проблеми стабільного забезпечення свіжих овочів та фруктів для обґрунтування соціального значення вертикальних ферм. За різними критеріями визначено типи рослин, які доцільно вирощувати в Україні та проаналізовано теоретичні та практичні напрацювання в даній тематиці..
В другому розділі наведено класифікацію вертикальних ферм та фактори, що впливають на їх формування, визначено особливості та обмеження щодо розміщення у міському середовищі, розроблено критерії за якими можна обирати розташування, а також проведено аналіз технологічних та об’ємно-просторових рішень і їх вплив на архітектуру вертикальних агрокомплексів, забезпечення енергоефективності та автономного циклу виробництва.
В третьому розділі проаналізовано нормативні документи і загальні принципи щодо вибору ділянки, розробки генерального плану, композиційних, структурно-планувальних, об’ємних рішень, інженерного та технологічного забезпечення для вертикальних поліфункціональних агрокомплексів в Україні. Надаються проектні рішення та їх обґрунтування щодо влаштування вертикального поліфункціонального агрокомплексу у м. Києві.
В розділі Цивільний захист виконаний розрахунок для визначення наслідків при прориві дамби Київської ГЕС і надано рішення з Цивільної оборони щодо захисту працівників і відвідувачів агрокомплексу. Наведено можливі небезпечні об’єкти району проектування та аналіз особливостей місцевості.
Entrepreneurship plays an exceptional role in the development of economies and is a vital source of change in all aspects of society. This book tries to facilitate a fundamental rethinking of entrepreneurial activity and how it is manifested. It addresses a critical shortcoming in much of the research, education, and economic development work that deals with entrepreneurship. Instead of the general theories of entrepreneurship, the book lays a foundation for developing theories of different kinds of entrepreneurial ventures. As the reader navigates these pages, he or she should hopefully broaden their entrepreneurial landscape and identify critical factors that drive contemporary entrepreneurship.
The development of green spaces in urban areas is rapidly on the rise as more people are keen to maintain a clean and green atmosphere around where they live and work. Also, the link between the physical world and the internet has been a driving force in enhancing people's quality of life which has resulted in the most recent and rising technologies, collectively referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). The adoption of vertical gardens (VG) and/or vertical farms (VF) can be beneficial for maintaining a sustainable environment, as well as for expanding food security in an urban context around the world with limited land space. IoT technologies have the potential to be key enablers in the accelerated adoption of VG. In this study, we investigate the critical parameters for automating sustainable vertical gardening systems by using the IoT concept in smart cities towards smart living. This involves collection and review of data from 30 peer-reviewed publications published between 2004 and 2018, including real-world VG implementations. The key criteria considered include: (i) crop/plant type, (ii) VG topology (size), (iii) sensing data, (iv) used hardware (sensors, actuators, etc.), (v) power supplies, (vi) velocity or frequency of data collection, (vii) data storage method, (viii) communication technologies, (ix) data analysis methods/algorithm, (x) other used strategies, and (xi) countries that implemented VGs. The data were subsequently analyzed to obtain a detailed understanding of using IoT in VGs. The results of the analysis revealed that most of the studies used 6-20 tiers (40%) when implementing VGs, and the most popular crop was lettuce (28.6%). The sensors used were commonly connected to AC power and battery (each 44.4%), while only a small proportion of VGs used solar power (11.1%). The majority of IoT sensors used were to measure room temperature (22.5%), light intensity (21.1%), humidity level (14%) and soil nutrition (7%). The frequency of data collection by these sensors was between 1 and 3 minutes (42.8%). The frequently used data transmission technology was Zigbee and Wi-Fi (42.8%) for collecting sensor data from VGs. We also found that, using the server database, remote data management platform and cloud were the most popular data storage methods (each 25%). After data collection, many studies used threshold-based algorithms (50%) for the decision making, and the soil-based (42%) and hydroponic (38%) were the most popular plant cultivation technologies. The use of recycled and reused water (30%), solar power (20%) and controlled indoor environment, without sun or soil (20%) are some of the other essential considerations in VGs. Furthermore, it was found that the most significant focus on automation of VGs incorporating IoT were in USA (41.2%) and China (23.5%). The impact of vertical cultivation walls on human well-being was discussed. In addition to this, eight international patents on VGs have been analyzed to acquire an implementation understanding of autonomous control or using IoT in vertical gardens.
Vertical farming brings an innovation in agriculture sector by improving production of food in optimized space within controlled environment without wastage of natural resources by using an automated technological system. It acquiring prominence around the world however incapable to accomplish goals, reason was lack of awareness, lack of public intention and participation towards vertical farming. This study filled the gap in prior literature and adding more creativity to influence public intention. The research used TPB to investigate the factors influencing public intention toward vertical farming and a moderating role of awareness. Data collected from Chinese consumers by convenience sampling technique, total 335 responses obtained and analyzed by using Structural Equation Model. The result of the study demonstrated that food safety and environmental concern are the best predictors of public intention towards vertical farming. Further awareness significantly strengthened the relationship between food safety concern and public intention. In the conclusion, study proposed appropriate recommendations to local government, stakeholders, urban planners, and food companies for the best practices to facilitate the successful implementation of vertical farming as sustainable for environment and health, which is also profitable business as public intention concurs.
Demographic movements forecasted by the United Nations indicates that, over the next few decades greater portion of people will be concentrated in and around large cities of the world. Such population dynamics in parallel with emerging phenomena such as global pandemics and impact of climate change are posing threats to the supply chain of agricultural production. The reliance on traditional open-field cultivation and transportation of fresh products to distant urban locations are coming under threat. This has been further exposed by the current pandemic (Covid-19) that is impeding farm production along with movement of people and goods. A viable solution lies in vertical in-door farming driven by advanced technologies. The use of high-tech solutions to grow vegetables, fruits and flowers close to consumption centers has taken off successfully in many locations around the world. However, majority of such projects have been set up by investors; with access to substantial capital. In order to mitigate the possibilities of food shortages in densely populated cities, initiatives need to be undertaken to foster growth of large-scale entrepreneurship by individuals that can venture into this field on a smaller scale and with less capital outlay.
The world population is increasing at a steady pace. Since the population is
growing so the demand for food supply is also rising. To develop more
food, more land is necessary while prime agricultural lands are getting to be
scarce and costly. Vertical farming utilizes less distance for growing more
food. Unlike traditional farming, he also came up with new farming
techniques such as Hydroponics and Aeroponics which has high production
of food at less space and more yields (which takes less time).
This chapter reviews recent advances in greenhouse technologies, including hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics, and explains how they have provided a promising future to the vertical farm concept. It argues that compact high-tech agriculture is not only applicable in dense urban areas but also in peri-urban areas. Indeed, new high-tech systems represent a paradigm shift in farming and food production and offer suitable and efficient methods for peri-urban farming by minimizing maintenance and maximizing yield. Upon reviewing these technologies and examining project prototypes, we find that these efforts do plant the seeds for the realization of efficient and compact forms of large-scale indoor farming. The chapter, however, speculates about the consequences, advantages, and disadvantages of the vertical farm. Economic feasibility, codes, regulations, and a lack of expertise remain major obstacles in the path to implementing the vertical farm.
With all benefits of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) therapy in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected patients, oral candidiasis (OC) remains a significant health problem in these patients. The aim of the study was to determine the impact of smoking on oral candidiasis in HIV patients. We retrospectively analysed a group of 84 HIV-infected patients with OC, hospitalised and monitored in Clinic of Infectious Diseases Timisoara, Romania. Positive diagnosis was based on physical examination and laboratory data. Identification was performed by API Candida system, ATB Fungus 2 for antifungal susceptibility testing and direct microscopic examination of fungal species. There were registered 50 patients (59.52%) smokers, and 34 (40.47%) nonsmokers. In smoking group were recorded: 13 patients with lingual erythematous candidiasis, 14 with lingual pseudomembranous candidiasis, 6 with pharyngeal candidiasis, 12 with cheilitis and other 8 with oral hairy leukoplakia. In non smoking group there were 30 patients with erythematous candidiasis and 4 with lingual pseudomembranous candidiasis. Candida albicans was isolated in majority cases in both studied groups. Candida nonalbicans was isolated in 13 patients from smoking group, and in 4 patients from nonsmoking group. Association of smoking with increasing number of OC clinical forms, required implementation of antismoking counseling programs in HIV-infected patients.
The human population has reached some 6.4 billion individuals. Over 800 million hectares (i.e., nearly 38% of the total landmass of the earth) is committed to producing crops to support this still growing population. Farming has dramatically transformed the landscape, replacing and redefining functional ecosystems. Undeniably, a reliable food supply has allowed for the evolution of culturally robust societies. Ironically, farming has created a set of new hazards unique to activities involved with the production of food, and has exacerbated many older ones. Exposure to toxic levels of agrochemicals (pesticides, fungicides) and a wide spectrum of geohelminths are transmitted with regularity at the tropical and sub-tropical agricultural interface. Emerging infections, many of which are viral zoonoses (e.g., Ebola, Lassa fever) have adapted to the human host following our encroachment into their environments. In 50 years, the human population is expected to increase to some 8.3 billion individuals. Feeding these new arrivals will require an additional 109 hectares of farmland; land that does not exist. Vertical, urban farming in tall buildings involves fully sustainable energy use and creation in a new and literal organic relationship between engineering, architecture, technology, and global agricultural imperatives in local based community solutions.
It is more than necessary to examine the issue of climate change and the connection that it has with the tremendous demand of mineral fuels in the last decades. It is also a necessity to examine thoroughly the alternatives that we have, like the use of biofuels, and to point out both the advantages and disadvantages of their use in order to define the conditions that should be applied for the minimisation of the effect of greenhouse emissions and thus to minimise the phenomenon of climate change. Biofuels are able to cover a small percentage of the energetic needs of the planet's population, do not charge the atmosphere with carbon dioxide emissions but they should not be cultivated in fertile lands.
When the issue of (in-) security is raised in relation to climate change it is most often associated with humanitarian catastrophes caused by extreme weather events. Taking into account all the challenges that Serbia has been exposed to, it is interesting to analyse some extreme weather events in the past. Among many of them there are obvious differences in the institutional response and mitigate the effects. Unfortunately, in the past we have witnessed major losses due to some failure of national institutions. Serbia has made many positive steps on the path towards full EU membership. But still, there is plenty of room for improvement. The paper analyses generally accepted methodology in social science to address past gaps and recommend how to avoid them in the future. Serbia has to dedicate funds for specific research, and to the training of its population, emergency and military personnel, as well as to start work on a National Action Plan for Adaptation and Strategy of reaction in emergencies.
Aquaculture has evolved as the fastest growing food-producing sector and developed as an important component in food security. Recirculating aquaculture systems offer the great advan-tage of controlled culture conditions to optimise productivity and, therewith, to obtain high quality market products. In order to manage an environmental friendly and productive recirculating system with minimum impact on fish physiology, the method of bioremediation proved efficient as long as the process is well integrated in a full treatment configuration. The main goal of the present paper consists of quantification of the retained nutrients in the vegetable biomass and, indirectly, of the bioremediation efficiency in terms of water quality control and reduction of the volume of the dis-charged effluent. Experiments were conducted in an experimental scale recirculating system where were integrated aquatic plants (Lemna minor) and superior plants (Lactuca sativa). Integration of different plant species in intensive aquaculture is a first step in modelling ecological recirculating systems of which the final goal is to diminish nutrients volume from the effluent and to increase the profitability of classical recirculating system (RAS) through secondary crop production.
Subject: Vertical Farms of the Future
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- D Despommier
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Vertical Farming Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment
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Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment
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