Can "vertical agriculture" Save all mankind when the global arable area remains 20%? _ Internet of Things

1. Vertical Agriculture

Do you know that only about 31 million of the Earth's 148 million square kilometres of land is available for farming, and that the arable area is now being lost at a rate of 100,000 square kilometres a year? As the global population increases and environmental problems deteriorate, humanity has to start facing a crisis of food shortages and food security.

The concept of vertical agriculture provides a good direction to solve this problem. Vertical farming, also known as vertical farming, is a new type of farming method that maximizes the production of units per unit area by making full use of resources and space. It allows crops to be grown at any time of the year, in conjunction with the technology of IoT, enabling modern farmers to gain accurate monitoring and control of the planting environment.

2. Relevant data

Although vertical agriculture is still in the ascendant due to the cost, it has begun to rise gradually in Europe and America. The biggest reason is that people can use vertical agriculture to produce more food with less resources. According to the 2016 survey of vertical agriculture by Agrilyst, Cornell University and the Vertical Agriculture association, vertical agriculture is about 4,000 times times more profitable than conventional agriculture in agricultural production.

Such a high yield on vertical agriculture derives mainly from the following 3 factors:

A. Annual production: In a year's time, assuming that the loss of climate damage is not considered, farmers who plant lettuce can harvest 4-5 of agricultural produce in conventional agriculture. Farmers who engage in vertical farming can harvest 18 of times.

B. High average yield: the average yield of lettuce grown in conventional agriculture is 30,000 lb/acre. The average yield of lettuce grown in vertical agriculture is 340,000 lb/acre. The production efficiency of the two is 10 times times the difference.

C. Higher retail value: According to the USDA, the average price of lettuce grown in conventional agriculture in 2015 was $0.59, while the vertical agricultural lettuce belonged to organic food without chemical fertilizers and pesticides, with an average price of $6.00.

3. Practical Cases

Recognizing the value and potential of vertical agriculture, some international giants have begun to enter the market, even if they have never been involved in agriculture. Japan's Panasonic electronics has the largest indoor farm in Singapore. Since 2014, Panasonic has been planting vegetables in a warehouse in Singapore and selling it to local retailers and restaurants. The 2,670-square-foot farm produced only 3.6 tonnes a year, and after a few years of development and technology use, the figure reached 81 tonnes a year.

Panasonic Electronics in this indoor farm, the LED light source as a substitute for the sun. The LED light source will stimulate the crop to grow as quickly as possible with the most appropriate spectrum, frequency and intensity.

For this type of vertical agricultural led solutions, from the Hwtrek platform of light agro-ecological technology can provide a good service.

They studied the optimal lighting parameters for different growth stages (sprouting, seedling, green leaves, etc.) of crops and combined various spectra to provide a range of LED products.

In this indoor farm, in addition to the use of LED lighting to promote crop growth, also used a series of sensors and equipment to monitor indoor environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration and so on to ensure that whenever the crops are in the most suitable environment.

For this kind of indoor environment monitoring demand, Henan Hanwei Electronic as China's largest gas sensor and instrument manufacturer, can provide from data collection, transmission, to terminal processing a set of things networking system-level solutions.

Singapore, as a city country, relies on imports for 90% of its food. Vertical farming will bring quality and plenty of food to the country, and these indoor crops are much cheaper than the same imported products. At present, the farm has planted more than 40 kinds of crops, including a variety of radish, lettuce and so on. Panasonic's electronic target, by the end of 2017, made the indoor farm produce 5% of the country's food production share.

4. Outlook

Although vertical farming has been widely watched by the media, investors have so far not shown much enthusiasm. The main reason is that the current vertical agriculture cost is too high compared to the traditional agriculture. In terms of energy consumption, even the most advanced LED lamps have an efficiency of only 50%, which means that only half of the energy is converted into the energy needed for the crop. But with the cost of technology falling, the urgency of food problems and people's need for food quality, perhaps the food on your plate will soon come from a nearby agricultural building.

* The above industry experts selected from Hwtrek

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