In the early 20th century, German scientist Fritz Haber and his colleague Carl Bosch found a way to synthesize ammonia, which made it possible to produce fertilizers in industrial quantities for the first time. It is said that two out of every five people on the planet today owe their lives to this discovery, which caused an explosion in food production.
Vertical farming in a soilless environment, besides its sustainability, also provides the opportunity to grow crops in areas where there was no opportunity to grow crops in the past. All over the world, unused underground bunkers, idle warehouses and containers can be transformed into crop-growing areas with high-tech equipment, environmental control sensors and bright pink LED lighting systems.
This alternative process, in parallel with the high interest it has received in recent years, has become a profitable area. Globally, the vertical agriculture market, which was $2.23 billion in 2018, is expected to reach $12.77 billion by 2026.
The fact that the market has such a growth trend and dynamics has enabled many European entrepreneurs to enter this market.
However, with this revolution in vertical agriculture, there are some problems. In addition to the high costs of vertical farming production for now, products such as basil, parsley and thyme, which cannot solve the world's nutrition, are produced with this production technique.
Therefore, studies to see the expansion of vertical agriculture in the future continue without slowing down. Will the pioneers of vertical farming make a production-enhancing discovery like Haber and Bosch did in the fertilizer industry?
Consumer demand for organic products has increased dramatically in recent years. The organic product market, which was 26.3 billion € in retail in 2014, made a serious leap in only 4 years, namely in 2018, and reached 40.7 billion € .
In vertical farming, the lack of pesticides and herbicides , as well as the significant reductions in water and fertilizer use, make this production model attractive for many people who are increasingly conscious of purchasing sustainably produced products.
Normally, in open field tomato cultivation in the Mediterranean climate, approximately 60 liters of water is used per kilogram of tomato, while in normal cultivation in greenhouses in northern countries such as the Netherlands, the water use decreases to an average of 16 liters, and to approximately 4 liters in vertical cultivation. If we consider that 50% of the total water used in Europe is used by the agricultural sector in Europe, we can also see the size of the share in agricultural irrigation.
Besides saving resources, vertical farming has been recognized as a way to simplify the global food supply chain by growing crops in cities. This is the products; supermarkets, restaurants, distribution centers and allows people to travel significantly shorter distances to their homes, increasing their freshness and reducing transport exhaust gas emissions.
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Although vertical farming is promising, some factors such as installation costs and energy make it difficult for this production system to expand on a large scale for now.
In most vertical cultivations, high profit margin plants such as basil, parsley, rosemary and thyme are grown and sold. Although many other plants can be grown in production with this system, the installation and operating costs of the system are high; has directed the producers to grow products with high profit margins.
The real question to be asked here is: “How can we grow other crops economically in vertical farming?”
The most important factor that increases the costs during the operation of the system is “energy”. With the high automation systems to be included in the system, the production costs per unit can be reduced. For example, with high automation systems integrated into growing environments, an increase in productivity per unit and a decrease in energy costs can be achieved by making heating, ventilation and lighting only in growth areas, almost without the need for a walkway.
Increasing the efficiency of LED lighting technologies and investing in the software of LED lighting systems is another factor that will make production more efficient and reduce costs, by calculating the exact amount and duration of light needed by each plant.
At the point of energy production supply, high cost savings will be achieved with cheap and clean renewable energies to be integrated into the system.