Vertical Farming: Innovating Agriculture

Although the concept of indoor farming is not new, with greenhouse production of tomatoes and other crops having been popular for some time, scaling up this technology to support an additional three billion people is now urgently needed. Many argue that a completely new approach to indoor farming is necessary, utilizing advanced technologies. One proposal is the concept of the 'Vertical Farm', where food crops are grown in controlled environments within multi-story buildings. Placed centrally in urban areas, these farms could significantly reduce the transportation distances required to deliver food to consumers. Vertical farms would need to be efficient, cost-effective to build, and safe to operate. Advocates claim that if successfully implemented, vertical farming offers the potential for urban revitalization, sustainable production of a diverse and safe food supply (through year-round cultivation of all types of crops), and eventual restoration of ecosystems lost to conventional horizontal farming.

It took humans 10,000 years to master the cultivation of most of the crops we now rely on. Along the way, much of the land we worked was degraded, transforming once lush natural ecosystems into semi-arid deserts. Concurrently, humans evolved into an urban species, with 60% of the global population now living vertically in cities. This means that while humans have shelter from the elements, our food-producing plants remain exposed to the unpredictable forces of nature, leaving us to hope for favorable weather conditions. However, due to rapidly changing climates, this hope is often unmet. Massive floods, prolonged droughts, hurricanes, and severe monsoons annually devastate millions of tons of valuable crops.

Supporters of vertical farming highlight several potential benefits of the system. For instance, crops could be cultivated year-round under optimal, artificially controlled conditions, eliminating crop failures due to adverse weather such as droughts, floods, or pests. All produce could be grown organically, eliminating the need for pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers. The system could also significantly reduce the incidence of many infectious diseases associated with agriculture. While the system would require energy, it could generate energy back into the grid through methane production from composting non-edible plant parts. Moreover, it would drastically cut down on fossil fuel usage by eliminating the need for tractors, plows, and long-distance shipping.

An inherent limitation of vertical farming is the necessity for artificial lighting. In its absence, plants near windows receive more sunlight and grow faster, compromising system efficiency. Single-story greenhouses benefit from natural overhead light, but many still require supplemental lighting. In a multi-story setup lacking natural light, the energy demand for artificial lighting would be significantly higher. Generating adequate light could prove prohibitively costly, unless cheap, renewable energy becomes widely available—a prospect more aspirational than imminent.

A variation of vertical farming involves growing plants in stacked trays that move on rails. Moving these trays ensures sufficient sunlight exposure. This method is already operational and successful in single-story greenhouses with overhead light. However, its feasibility without natural light remains uncertain.

Vertical farming aims to tackle the undeniable challenges of food production for a growing population. Currently, however, more efforts are needed to mitigate its environmental impact, especially regarding energy consumption. While skyscraper farming is a potential future, experts currently lean towards utilizing available urban rooftop space.

Questions 1-7

Complete the sentences below.

Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.

Indoor farming

1. Some crops, such as ………………………..  are already cultivated indoors.

2. Vertical farms would be situated in ……………………….., reducing the necessity for long-distance transportation to consumers.

3. Vertical farms could utilize methane from organic matter to generate …………………………

4. The use of ……………………….. would decrease due to the elimination of agricultural vehicles.

5. The requirement for ……………………….. light is a disadvantage of vertical farms.

6. One type of vertical farming involves growing crops in structures ……………………….. that are not fixed in place.

7. The most likely future scenario is that food will be cultivated on ………………………..  in urban areas.

Questions 8-13

Do the statements below agree with the information provided in the Reading Passage?

In boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet, write:

TRUE  if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE    if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

8. Techniques for predicting the world’s population have recently undergone changes.

9. Human activity is responsible for some of the damage to land used for food production.

10. The types of crops grown in vertical farms will vary depending on the season.

11. Climate change contributes to certain damages to food crops.

12. Certain crops in vertical farms will require fertilizers.

13. Vertical farming will reduce the susceptibility of plants to infectious diseases.

Responses

1. Tomatoes (The concept of indoor farming is not new, since hothouse production of tomatoes and other produce has been in vogue for some time.”)

2. Urban centres/centers (“Situated in the heart of urban centers”)

3. Energy (“Although the system would consume energy, it would return energy to the grid via methane generation from composting non-¬edible parts of plants.”)

4. Fossil fuel (“would also dramatically reduce fossil fuel use, by cutting out the need for tractors, ploughs and shipping.”)

5. Artificial (A major drawback of vertical farming, however, is that the plants would require artificial light.”)

6. Stacked trays (One variation on vertical farming that has been developed is to grow plants in stacked trays that move on rails.”)

7. (Urban) rooftops (“…most experts currently believe it is far more likely that we will simply use the space available on urban rooftops.”)

8. NOT GIVEN (Không có thông tin về các phương pháp dự đoán dân số)

9. TRUE (“…we despoiled most of the land we worked, often turning verdant, natural ecozones into semi-arid deserts.” -> Con người phá huỷ môi trường)

10. FALSE (“…sustainable production of a safe and varied food supply (through year-round production of all crops), and the eventual repair of ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming.” -> Không phải sự ảnh hưởng của Season)

11. TRUE (“However, more often than not now, due to a rapidly changing climate, …destroying millions of tons of valuable crops.”).

12. FALSE (“All the food could be grown organically, eliminating the need for herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.” -> Không cần dùng thuốc trừ sâu).