Agriculture is evolving to face various challenges. In this context, hydroponics emerges as a promising solution. By dispensing with soil and utilizing nutrient solutions, it offers unprecedented efficiency and control. This article explores the potential of large-scale hydroponics to transform agriculture.
Large scale cultivated hydroponics has enormous potential for:
- Supply enough food sustainably to comfortably feed all of humanity in the foreseeable future.
- Allow large tracts of land to return to the natural landscape by restoring ecosystem functions and services.
- Take advantage of abandoned and unused urban spaces.
- Break the cycle of transmission of disease agents associated with an environment contaminated by feces.
- Allow year-round food production without loss of yields due to climate change or weather phenomena
- Remove the need for large-scale use of pesticides and herbicides.
- To provide an important new role for agrochemical industries (i.e., to design and produce safe, chemically defined diets for a wide variety of commercially viable plant species).
- Create an environment that fosters sustainable urban living, promoting a state of good health for all who choose to live in cities.
But what is the problem?
Our current agricultural system faces a significant challenge: by 2050, food production must increase by 70% to feed a global population of approximately 9.8 billion people, with 68% residing in urban areas. However, linear agricultural production growth over the last five decades falls far short of this target.
Traditional agriculture depletes resources and reaches genetic and chemical limits. Increased use of fertilizers or pesticides won't boost yields. Intensification and expansion of land are seen as the only options to meet food demand.
Unsustainable water use in agriculture accounts for 70% of global consumption. Moreover, 38% of non-frozen land is already allocated to agriculture. It's projected that by 2050, an additional 593 million hectares of land will be needed to meet food demand, threatening vital ecosystems and the balance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
We must seek alternatives to the current agricultural system to meet growing food demand. Hydroponic agriculture emerges as a solution to address many of the current agricultural challenges.
Why Hydroponics?
In a traditional agriculture system, diseased crops are difficult to identify and isolate in large tracts of land. Modular agriculture offers an efficient and uninterrupted growth process. Furthermore, thanks to soilless cultivation, the growing space is consistently utilized. This means there's no need to wait between harvests, resulting in growth cycles 7 to 14 times faster than traditional practices.
Hydroponic agriculture has great potential to mitigate the threats these years pose to our agricultural system.
Hydroponic vertical farms employ a modular design that maximizes space and increases yield. Compared to conventional farms, they can produce 3 to 10 times more in the same space. Additionally, hydroponic crops like Hyfood can yield up to 30 tons per hectare in 15 weeks, significantly surpassing traditional methods.
Hydroponic farms offer a pathway to a more sustainable food ethic that prioritizes the health of our food, bodies and environment without the intensive use of chemicals. Hydroponic farming is already being rapidly integrated into today's food webs. Although the global climate problem is multidimensional and the result of many different practices, reducing the impact of the agricultural industry will be a major step forward. At the beginning of the 21st century, hydroponic agriculture had not yet been invented. Now, just 20 years later, the industry has gained ground and is already dramatically changing our farming practices and the future of our food system.
Discover here our hydroponic greenhouses
