The world’s growing population is a constant reminder that food production is a necessity that needs to be maintained and made more sustainable.
Traditional farming practices have always been the primary crop-growing method in many countries.
However, many people now gravitate to urban areas and agricultural lands are slowly developed into residential or commercial land areas. So, the need to upgrade farming practices and means of food production becomes apparent.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that by the year 2050, the world’s population will reach more than nine billion.
Farms that still rely on traditional methods may feel the strain of feeding millions of people. Better agricultural technology is gravely needed.
Hope is not lost as technology is slowly being developed through climate-smart agriculture and commercial urban and controlled environment agriculture (CEA).
So, what exactly is climate-smart agriculture (CSA), and how is it revolutionizing food production? How does this technology connect with commercial urban and controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and traditional open-air farming?
This article will tackle the revolutionary features of CSA in food production. It will discuss how this agricultural technology can benefit those focused on CEA and traditional farmers by ensuring the highest yield at the lowest possible cost.
In addition, this write-up will show how this technology can affect farmers and consumers living in urban and suburban areas.
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Achieving Food Production Sustainability Through Controlled Environment Agriculture
Food production sustainability is one of the goals of a society with an ever-growing population. Crop yields must increase in response to the population increase. However, the problem arises when the agricultural output of the community levels off.
In an ideal world, food production should increase proportionately to the growing population, but this is not always the case.
However, developing technologies and methods like controlled environment agriculture may achieve food production sustainability.
According to Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, controlled environment agriculture (CEA) in urban areas can be an alternative to traditional food production. The study reveals that CEA can reduce logistics problems associated with traditional food production, reducing costs.
One method to improve the production yields of farms is to use climate-smart agriculture methods. CSA helps farmers by ensuring an integrated approach to managing all means of food production and landscapes and maintaining their productivity despite climate change.
In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to release more than $1 billion to incentivize the shift to climate-smart agriculture.
“We’re trying to incentivize the creation of climate-smart commodities that hold higher value in the marketplace that farmers can generate additional profit from,” United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
With this mandate, the journey towards climate-smart agriculture development has slowly begun.
How Does Technology Affect Farmers and Consumers Living in Urban and Suburban Areas?
One existing example of utilizing landscapes to improve food production is using CEA methods like greenhouses. CEA focuses on sustainable food production that doesn’t only augment but may become a significant crop-growing method in urban areas.
According to an article from Ohio State University, the following are some beneficial effects of CEA technology on farmers and consumers living in the city:
- All-year production of crops
- Easy access to fresh produce for people living in the city
- Reduced spoilage of perishable produce
- Increased farmers’ and growers’ control in the production process
- Sustainable food sources in urban areas
One area of improvement in urban agriculture is vertical farming. Stacking greenhouses on top of one another can increase the surface where you can cultivate plants.
For Dr. Dickson Despommier, microbiologist, ecologist, and professor of Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia University, the concept is straightforward:
“Imagine a high-tech greenhouse and then stack them on top of each other and you’ve got a vertical farm.”
Dr. Despommier added, “Right now, you can go to the country of Japan and see over 50 examples of what I would consider vertical farms.” He describes them as quite efficient in producing leafy green vegetables that we eat consistently.
It’s only a matter of time before businesses start capitalizing on the vertical space inside a city to provide the necessary food source to become self-reliant.
Improving Traditional Open-Air Farming With CEA Technology
For thousands of years, farming has been one of the major methods of food production for almost all civilizations in the world. Every country uses different farming methods that trace back into prehistory.
However, one thing that continually plagues open-air farming is the farmer’s need for environmental control. Storms, drought, floods, and rains can suddenly ravage farmland, destroying crops.
Farmers and growers can directly control the environment through CEA technology, allowing plants and vegetables to thrive inside protected areas.
How Does the CEA Help Farmers Produce the Highest Yield at the Lowest Possible Cost?
CEA uses new forms of agriculture technology to improve the capability of growing crops all year round. Controlling the atmosphere inside these greenhouses ensures the crops are protected from the elements.
CEA can also protect crops from pests and other factors that might ruin the crop’s yield.
Traditional agriculture without technology is labor intensive and requires sheer human power. However, even with the best farmers, the farm’s success still lies in the environment, climate, and weather, which is beyond anyone’s control.
However, as technologies in CEA improve, farmers can now slowly plan how to grow crops practically anywhere.
Through CEA, farmers and growers can manage their urban farms because of the following benefits:
- Farmers have control over the growth of their crops.
- CEA requires a lesser labor force compared to traditional farming.
- Less water use makes it friendlier to the environment.
- CEA can focus on better yields without worrying about other expenses.
- CEA technology is at the forefront of modern farming, and governments may offer incentives to promote its use.
The Food and Agricultural Organization promotes climate-smart agriculture as it can help people respond effectively to climate change. CSA technology offers solutions to achieve increased and sustainable productivity, adaptability to a changing climate, and increased profit.
CSA and CEA can help resolve the pressing issue pointed out by Margaret Zeigler, Executive Director of the Global Harvest Initiative.
Zeigler predicted, “If the current trends are not altered by 2050, climate change could decrease global maize yields by up to 18 percent, rice yields could drop by 7 percent, and wheat yields could decline by up to 36 percent.”
Maize or corn, wheat, and rice are the world’s most prominent three grains, and climate change may impact these staple crops. Farmers will need new tools, technology, and techniques to adapt to climate change to reduce the risk of crop failures, leading to low yields, limited food production, and famine.
The United States and other countries that need an improved crop-raising method must consider applying CSA and CEA practices.
The world is changing, and everyone is in for the ride. However, people are highly adaptable and have proven this throughout human history.
Technology is one of the defining feats of humanity. People’s ingenuity is capable of harm, but it can also be used to do the greatest good.
References
- 68% of the world population projected to live in urban areas by 2050, says UN
https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html
- The World Could Run Out of Food by 2023, Study Says
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/world-running-out-of-food-by-2023/
- CEA Viability in Metro Areas
https://blogs.cornell.edu/urbancea/
- Climate-smart agriculture
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climate-smart-agriculture
- The Controlled Environment Agriculture Research Complex
https://cfaes.osu.edu/features/the-controlled-environment-agriculture-research-complex
- Climate-Smart Agriculture Shows Promise in Improving Azerbaijan’s Cotton Productivity
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/climate-smart-agriculture-shows-promise-in-improving-azerbaijans-cotton-productivity
- Is the Future of Farming Looking Up?
https://www.cnbc.com/id/49462850
- Feds will spend $1 billion to spur farmers and ranchers to fight climate change
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/usda-to-spend-1-billion-on-agriculture-projects-tackling-climate-change.html
- Guest Commentary – Critical Factors to Meet the Greatest Challenge in Human History
https://globalfoodforthought.typepad.com/global-food-for-thought/2014/10/guest-commentary-critical-factors-to-meet-the-greatest-challenge-in-human-history.html
