FUTURE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE: HYDROPONICS?

Hydroponics is a modern system (non-traditional environment) which allows plants to grow in anthropogenically designed media and particularly in the absence of soil. This system involves the supply of nutrients to plants, which they would normally get from the soil, through the irrigation water at regular basis. In simple terms, plants grow in water (HYDROPONICS) and their roots are exposed in order to absorb this water and nutrients.

Hydroponic systems have been explored as a solution to food security as well as an idea of greening the city. A primary example of this is the Hola Harvest which is supported by WIBC Open Innovation (WIBC). They particularly produce leafy greens (spinach, spices and lettuce), basil and strawberries. They plant these in A-frames systems and table systems.

The hydroponics agricultural approach as part of the urban agriculture component, is effective in producing much higher yield, especially in this climax of climate change. Hydroponics provide a much stable, ideal environment for successful and effective plant growth. But the question arises; to what extent is it a solution to addressing the food security crisis we see globally today?.

One of the disadvantages of hydroponics, as mentioned by the Agricultural Research Council website (ARC), is that it requires a lot of capital, intensive management as well as hard labour. Small scale farmers lack capital, which puts them in a position that will inhibit them from having access to hydroponics equipment. Even subsistence farmers in the rural areas will not be able to purchase this system as it is expensive, and this will mean that they will not have food as the climate continues to worsen.

This food security solution does not accommodate those experiencing food insecurity. The foods produced are sold to restaurants at a supermarket level of pricing, which brings about the idea that this form of urban agriculture is not accommodating to the low income individuals who don’t afford supermarket products. The foods can not be found on the informal sector division of the economy, which tries to accommodate the low income households. Is a solution to food security that actually speaks to the food insecure possible?