Vertical Farming: Trends and Challenges
Dra. Gilda Carrasco, Ph.D.
ABSTRACT
Traditionally, vegetables are mostly grown outdoors in areas suitable for certain species and on a seasonal basis, which has resulted in the transport of large volumes of vegetable products to urban centers, and therefore with a high carbon footprint.
Protected horticulture is another way to cultivate horticultural crops, especially using greenhouses, with and without soil. The soilless culture technologies, hydroponics, or substrates cultivation have facilitated the vegetables growth with high commercial value. Also, this has been adopted in areas where the climate is benign, and a very efficient use of water is required.
In recent years, the recurrent inclement weather, and the scarcity of water due to climate change have given rise to other green technologies, such as vertical farms, which combine the use of soilless cultivation with digital agriculture with the aim of cultivating horticultural species independently of the external climate. For this, vertical farms have been built using abandoned warehouses, recycled shipping containers or even skyscrapers with a high investment cost. However, having trained operators, technicians, and professionals both in the cultivation and management of plants and in the use and control of sensors, automation and other key aspects of digital agriculture constitutes one of the great challenges we face to achieve sustainable development and production.
BIOSKETCH
Agricultural Engineer (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile), Ph.D. (Wye College, University of London, United Kingdom). She is associate professor (Universidad de Talca, Chile). Her main research areas are food safety in vegetables crops, soilless culture, and vertical farms. She carried out different research projects with national and international funds in urban and suburban horticulture (north and center of Chile) with more than 40 articles, 6 books. Prof. Carrasco has lectured different classes related to vegetable production, protected horticulture and soilless cultivation, and has trained over 40 undergraduate and graduate students in sustainable techniques to grow vegetables and soilless cultivation technologies. She has been invited as a guest editor in Frontiers in Plant Science and Horticulturae in the areas of vertical farming and soilless culture. She has been distinguished as a corresponding member of the Chilean Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Also, she has also been Pro-Rector, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs, General Secretary and Dean of the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, Universidad de Talca. She is currently the director of a national project on vertical agriculture as an alternative for the development of a sustainable agricultural system.