As our world continues to host more and more buildings every day, this leads to a decrease in agricultural land around the world. A very interesting research was shared today, while the yield of agricultural lands, which are already shrinking due to the effect of global climate change, is also decreasing.
Crops such as cucumbers, potatoes and lettuce yield much more when grown in urban environments than in fields, according to new research published in the journal Earth’s Future. Moreover, this difference is not a little ice. The productivity of the products grown in the city environment and in the field can differ up to 4 times.
So where do you get the most efficiency in an urban environment?
Examining more than 200 studies covering 53 countries and more than 2,000 data points, the scientists were unable to provide an answer as to where it would be best to grow crops in the city. But he shared that some crops offer much better productivity, especially in areas suited to certain conditions.
An example of this was about juicy vegetables like tomatoes and leafy vegetables. The scientists found that crops such as succulents and leafy vegetables offer higher productivity in hydroponic environments, where water is used instead of soil. It was stated that foods such as lettuce, cabbage and broccoli are more suitable to be grown vertically.
Although it has been revealed that growing some vegetables in an urban environment offers higher productivity, one more question mark has not yet been answered. The scientists did not provide an answer on how economical urban farming is compared to rural farming.