Farms of the Future

The world population continues to grow. Scientists estimate that by 2050 there will be 9 billion people on Earth. They’ll all need to eat, so the amount of food produced will have to nearly double to keep up. That means we’ll need more land for crops, but removing forests to create fields makes climate change worse. It also destroys the habitats of forest plants and animals. We need ways to grow more food with less land. Scientists and farmers are working together to solve the problem.

Greenhouses and Vertical Farming

Traditional farms have fields open to the sky because plants need sunlight to grow. Greenhouses are an alternative to fields — they’re buildings made of glass or plastic that let light in but keep bad weather out. Greenhouses can also be heated in winter. That means food can be grown all year long, not just when the weather is good. Greenhouses are used to grow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, leafy greens and more. However, greenhouses still need to be in areas that have the right amount of sunlight.

Vertical farming is a way to move plants indoors without a greenhouse. Scientists discovered that some plants grow just as well under red and blue LED lights as they do under the sun. So, with the right lights and equipment, some plants can be grown anywhere, even inside a building in the middle of the city. It’s called vertical farming because the plant containers can be stacked up in columns, or grown vertically. A vertical farm the size of a supermarket could produce the same amount of food as 700 acres (280 hectares) of land.

So far, vertical farms are best at growing lettuce. One vertical farm in Japan produces 30,000 heads of lettuce per day. Vertical farms have been a success in growing leafy greens, but they do not yet produce a variety of other crops.

Aquaponics

Aquaculture is the raising and harvesting of fish, shellfish, and other sea and freshwater life. Hydroponics is a way to grow plants without soil. Some people combine the two methods into aquaponics.

In aquaponics, fish give plants the nutrients they need to grow, and plants clean water for the fish. Fish pee and poop in the water where they live. That isn’t a problem in an ocean or a lake, but water in a tank needs to be changed to stay fresh. In aquaponics, the system sends dirty water from the fish tanks to containers of plants. As the water passes through the plants’ roots, the roots remove the waste from the water and use it as fertilizer. The clean water is then sent back to the fish.

Fish such as tilapia can be raised this way year-round, and plants such as tomatoes, strawberries, lettuce, peppers, and celery can all be grown in nutrient-rich water. Aquaponics is a way to raise fish and fruits and vegetables at the same time, but right now aquaponic facilities cost a lot to set up and run, so many people do not use them.

Algaculture

Algae are a group of simple plants that grow in water. Seaweed, a kind of algae, is eaten in soups, salads, as dried snacks, and as a wrap around sushi. Carrageenan, which comes from red seaweed, is used as a thickener in many foods, including ice cream. Some kinds of algae are added to food as a source of extra nutrition.

Algae grow ten times faster than land plants, so they can be ready to harvest after six weeks. Some algae even do well in wastewater, so they could help clean the water as they grow. Today, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines farm the most seaweed. Other parts of the world are considering if algaculture could work for them too.

Smart Farming

Vertical farms, aquaponics, and algaculture may be more widely used in the future, but computers and robotics are already changing how land is farmed today. Robots and self-driving machines help farmers plant, water, and fertilize crops. Camera-carrying drones can fly over fields to see if the plants are healthy, which sections need water, or where weeds are popping up.

Even if a farmer doesn’t have a self-driving tractor or a drone, they can use computers and apps to share data with other farmers. Knowing how another farmer took care of her crops can help them make decisions about their own fields. Computers can also help analyze how well crops grow from year to year.

Looking Ahead

No one way of doing things is likely to be the perfect solution. Scientists and farmers will continue to work together and test different ideas to find the best combination of methods. But together, they may be able to feed the world while caring for the planet.