Hydroponics can rapidly help serve unmet demands for fresh organic vegetables, grown close to their market. Though limited by volume, growing food in hydroponic greenhouses has many advantages. Because the greenhouse's temperature and inputs can be precisely controlled, plants grow faster and face fewer diseases than their counter-parts outside in soil. A closed-loop irrigation system results in major water savings and uses less fertilizer, while not introducing pollutants into groundwater and soil. These greenhouses can be adapted to many different crops, and facilitate ease of rotation, which enable the farmers to more quickly react to changing consumer demand. Finally, growing hydroponic vegetables closer to consumers will help reverse the trend of foreign produce imports and transporting food across the oceans.
Read more3 Reasons Indoor Farming Is The Future of Agriculture
World hunger and food security remain pressing issues in today's society. With a diminishing amount of farmable land and an increase in global population, indoor agriculture can help with the challenges that lie ahead. Indoor agriculture will play a key role in meeting the need for more food, and the technologies these facilities adopt will open up a wealth of capabilities, jobs, and alternative investment opportunities that redesign both urban and agricultural landscapes.
Read moreInvesting in Novel Agriculture Production Systems
Soil-based agriculture has dominated food production for tens of thousands of years. In recent years, so-called "novel farming systems" have become more prevalent. Many of these farming methods -- often involving Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) -- are capital intensive to start-up. Funding for these projects can be hard to come by from traditional agriculture lending sources who do not understand how to underwrite them. But for investors who want to play a role in the future of global food production, CEA projects can offer higher risk-adjusted returns. According to AgFunder's 2017 "AgriFood Tech" report, investments in novel farming systems jumped 223% from the previous year. Some examples of novel farming systems are described below.
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