Vertical farming rises to feed world
INNOVATION: A Fieldays winner with an eye on global hunger is now introducing its concept to Kiwi parties
The world is consuming more food than it is producing. With the global population expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, a global food crisis is fast approaching.
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 report estimated that on average, 768 million people faced hunger globally in 2020. The high cost of fresh, healthy produce, combined with high income inequality, means that many cannot afford a healthy diet.
This is also prevalent in Aotearoa, with almost 40 per cent of Kiwi households saying they face food insecurity in the last NZ Adult Nutrition Survey, conducted in 2008-09.
A company that is answering the call to this crisis is Intelligent Growth Solutions Ltd (IGS). IGS is an Edinburgh-based company developing vertical farming systems.
IGS made its first appearance in New Zealand with its Fieldays Innovation Award win last year in the Growth and Scale category, which recognises innovations that are seeking growth in new markets. IGS is now in the early stages of talking with interested parties here.
IGS boss David Farquhar says vertical farming is a key element in rethinking how we grow crops.
“On its own, vertical farming won’t solve world hunger or climate change — but it is one answer, and we believe it will help in both cases.
“Ultimately, we think up to 30 per cent of the world’s diet could be grown in vertical farms,” he says.
IGS’s vertical farming system uses smart technologies to grow vegetables and fruits indoors in a remote, but highly controlled environment. Seedlings are positioned on trays inside modular multi-level structures IGS calls “growth towers”.
Multiple crops can be produced in a growth tower including herbs, leafy greens like lettuce and spinach, kale, broccoli, root-based crops such as seed potatoes and soft fruits like strawberries.
Vertical farms don’t require large amounts of land, use significantly less water, and can be placed virtually anywhere.
“One growth tower covers about 42sq m — up to a 1000th the size of a conventional farm — and can produce 25 tonnes of food. To achieve the same amount on a traditional farm, you would need three to four hectares of land,” Farquhar says.
“As they use a lot less area, towers can be sited anywhere in towns and cities such as disused factory sites, and there’s no reason why they couldn’t be set up by traditional farmers or growers on their land.”
Fieldays Innovation Awards is now accepting applications for the 2022 intake from individuals and organisations.