What Agriculture fits with future Environmental needs? – The Property Chronicle
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What Agriculture fits with future Environmental needs? Vertical farms and if a worthy use of public money

The Farmer

The construction of the World’s largest vertical farm, in Dubai, was recently announced. Effectively a high tech, multi-storied urban greenhouse, once built it will produce 2.5 tonnes of leafy greens a day, use no soil, and only 1% of the water and chemicals required if the crops were grown conventionally. It will use photovoltaics to power ultra-violet light which will hasten photosynthesis rates in the growing plants. At 130,000 square feet it is nearly double the size of the Aero Farm venture in Newark, New Jersey, the previous holder of the title, and four times larger than the biggest one in Europe, situated in a town called Dronten just south of Amsterdam. Using existing technology, the crop husbandry and its environment can be precisely controlled by remote sensors and controls. Even the flavours can be altered at the press of a button. There are many advantages of producing food in this way which ultimately answer the intensifying problem equation of feeding a growing population from environments of declining quality. 






The Farmer

About Martin Hole

Martin Hole

Martin Hole farms at Montague on the wetlands of the Pevensey Levels in East Sussex. Part family-owned and part rented, the 300ha organic enterprise provides a home to about 150 cattle and nearly 2,000 head of sheep, with a small diversification into residential property and a fledgling green tourism business. A former RSPB UK Lapwing Champion, Martin remains fascinated by the provision of wilderness whilst trying to keep the farm intact for three daughters.

Articles by Martin Hole

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