Indoor Vertical Farming: is it all it’s hyped up to be?

Vertical farming has several benefits including minimizing water use and maximizing productivity by using small spaces to plant upwards. It is indeed ideal for countries which have exhausted their land supply or don’t have agricultural land to begin with (i.e.; deserts).

However, its energy consumption level is very high due to the artificial lights used. This is a challenge and an obstacle, not only because of the damaging environmental impact (of using too much energy) but also because of the high cost of energy in countries like Lebanon.

The article suggests making use of natural sunlight by having vertical farming on rooftops in urban areas. Given the dense urban structure of Lebanon, using rooftops for vertical farming is definitely an idea worth considering.

Read more http://theconversation.com/food-security-vertical-farming-sounds-fantastic-until-you-consider-its-energy-use-102657