Adoption of vertical farming may contribute to food security in Africa Credit: Sergey Mironov/ Moment/ Getty Images
An intensive plant production system with vertically stacked shelves in a controlled environment of artificial lighting and soilless cultivation systems could transform Africa’s agriculture, a study in Scientific Reports finds.
The indoor vertical farming method provides a more sustainable use of water and mineral nutrients, and offers high, year-round yields, reduced pesticide or herbicide demands, and resilience to climate change.
The researchers assessed all 54 African countries to determine whether indoor vertical farming was feasible and sustainable. South Africa, Seychelles, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Cape Verde, and Nigeria had the best prospects for indoor vertical farming implementation.
“We want to reach new generations of young African farmers, scientists, engineers, biotechnologists, builders, developers and entrepreneurs to show a new agricultural future. Africa needs to revolutionize its agriculture, through innovation and technology. We believe that vertical farming has great potential to alleviate the food crisis in large African cities”, says Giuseppina Pennisi, researcher at DISTAL – Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, in Italy, who participated in the study.
