The Future of Farming

Whats the Issue?

"...by 2050, we will need to increase food production by about 70% in order to meet the caloric needs of a global population of 9.8 billion people..." (Princeton Student Climate Initiative)

As climate change, increase urbanization, and new diseases pop up, we also face the demanding issue of depleting natural resources and poor food security. As we look at the water used around the world, we can see the value of water is not fully considered; water waste adds up in a detrimental rate. Around the world, "Globally, 70% of water usage goes towards agricultural production...38% of earth's non-frozen land is used for growing food,"(PSCI). The land usage will only continue to grow and by 2050, it'll be the size of India! The work towards producing more and more food for people and livestock which have also not worked towards the increasing rates of those who are malnutrition ed and those how are starving.

So what's the Solution?

Hydroponics is a strong solution for this predicament, but you may be asking: What is hydroponics? Well hydroponics originates from Greek roots--- "hydro" meaning "water", "ponics" meaning "water", and putting that together you get the idea which water does the work! What makes hydroponics special is how you're growing plants without soil and you're using water-based nutrients to fee your plants! This efficiently sends nutrients directly to the plant which promotes both faster growth and larger production. Hydroponics allows you to grow crops in a controlled environment. It breaks away from traditional farming--- where you don't need any unnecessary energy, nutrients, water, and CO2. Hydroponics lower the chances of pests present in your plants as well, so you don't have to worry about using pesticides and herbicides.One of the biggest pluses is the maximization of space by 90-99%! You no longer have to plant horizontally in the ground. Plants can grow in vertical farms. Stack on stack to optimize space! The essential nutrient water is pumped and circulates throughout the whole system.

Why Hydroponics?

A lot of land issues and increased urbanization do not pose as much as an issue when crops are able to be grown anywhere and indoors. Hydroponics effectively provide fresh, quality, and local food for areas who do not have as much access to crops. India has seen more than 50% deficient soil in 615 districts. India has 741 districts and with hydroponics, farmers do not have to worry about stripping the soil. Hydroponics is a garden that isn't limited to framers, but also your home. As hydroponics becomes more and more known, companies are starting to create kits. Even if you don't have a yard or a green house, you can set it up in your own home. Access to fresh food year around is not a problem. Even in space, NASA grew lettuce! Imagine how efficient hydroponics could be in the desert, arctics, and all the areas in the world that don't have access to traditional farming. It makes bringing fresh, leafy green vegetables to the sub-Saharan Africa possible. Although it is much more costly, especially for small start-up farmers. The investment in hydroponics turn out of serving the community, creating jobs, and reducing growing CO2 levels slowly balance out the initial costs. The rapid growth of hydroponics is a huge step forward in addressing our global climate issues and making the world more sustainable for future generations!

Acknowledgements:

Boylan, Camille. “The Future of Farming: Hydroponics - PSCI.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, 9 Nov. 2020, https://psci.princeton.edu/tips/2020/11/9/the-future-of-farming-hydroponics.

D'Odorico, Paolo et al. “The global value of water in agriculture.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America vol. 117,36 (2020): 21985-21993. doi:10.1073/pnas.2005835117

Li, Zhi-Guo et al. “Soil nutrient assessment for urban ecosystems in Hubei, China.” PloS one vol. 8,9 e75856. 27 Sep. 2013, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075856

“Water in Agriculture.” World Bank, 5 Oct. 2022, https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/water-in-agriculture.

Shukla, Arvind Kumar et al. “Deficiency of phyto-available sulphur, zinc, boron, iron, copper and manganese in soils of India.” Scientific reports vol. 11,1 19760. 5 Oct. 2021, doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99040-2