Urban agriculture is the production, processing and distribution of edible produce through intensive plant cultivation in and around cities. Entrepreneurs establish their gardens in basements and on the tops of sky scrapers. They grow rare edible flowers and greens: basil, wasabi etc.
A successful example of urban agriculture business is Farm.One in New-York. Founder Rob Laing brought his love for food and tech together. He spent time travelling and discovering new unusual tastes and decided to grow them in the basement of skyscraper of New York City. It is a way to have fresh produce in the megapolis and to use the unused space in the city.
The venue can grow around 580 varieties of rare herbs and flowers (200 at a time) that supply New York’s top restaurants. Farm.One uses hydroponics method. Hydroponics means that plants grow in water with the controlled environments and farms are located indoors. You don’t need natural light or fresh air to grow it. But indoor farms simulate natural environments all year round.
Hydroponics might be a good solution to face resource problems:
- You can grow produce anywhere.
- Uses 20 times less water than soil based gardening.
- Your environment is sterile, which means no pesticides.
- You’ll use 20% less space for growing.
- The system water can be reused, allowing you to conserve water.
Hydroponic farming is essential, especially as climate change makes growing seasons volatile and unreliable. “One of the most important things people will need to do over the next 100 years with climate change is bring food creation and cultivation back to cities where people are moving,” said Dan Nelson, an entrepreneur in Brooklyn who is researching the urban agriculture movement.
