How to feed an anticipated population of 9 billion by the middle of this century? There are views and views regarding the strategy the world has to adopt in the coming years but none can provide any degree of assurance whether adequate food will be produced to feed the above population. Neither the Discredited Green Revolution, blamed for destroying the soil health or the much touted Genetic Engineering technology can be the answer as the experience so far has been far from satisfactory. Against this context the new innovative approach being tried out in the Netherlands using wholly artificial atmosphere, seems to hold great promise though the development is still in its early stages. Most impressive is the relatively low requirement of water which is a scarce commodity already due to over exploitation every where in the world. Probably other countries also should pitch in to bring the innovation to fruition. Here is a take on this new development.
"To feed so many people may require expanding farmland at the expense of forests and wilderness, or finding ways to radically increase crop yields. Meeuws and three other Dutch bioengineers have taken the concept of a greenhouse a step further, growing vegetables, herbs and house plants in enclosed and regulated environments where even natural light is excluded. In their research station, strawberries, yellow peppers, basil and banana plants take on an eerie pink glow under red and blue bulbs of Light-Emitting Diodes, or LEDs. Water trickles into the pans when needed and all excess is recycled, and the temperature is kept constant. Lights go on and off, simulating day and night, but according to the rhythm of the plant – which may be better at shorter cycles than 24 hours – rather than the rotation of the Earth. In a larger "climate chamber" a few miles away, a nursery is nurturing cuttings of fittonia, a colorful house plant, in two layers of 70 square meters (750 sq. feet) each. Blasts of mist keep the room humid, and the temperature is similar to the plants' native South America. After the cuttings take root – the most sensitive stage in the growing process – they are wheeled into a greenhouse and the chamber is again used for rooting. The process cuts the required time to grow a mature plant to six weeks from 12 or more. The Dutch researchers say they plan to build a commercial-sized building in the Netherlands of 1,300 square meters (14,000 sq. feet), with four separate levels of vegetation by the end of this year. After that, they envision growing vegetables next to shopping malls, supermarkets or other food retailers.
Meeuws says a building of 100 sq meters (1,075 sq. feet) and 14 layers of plants could provide a daily diet of 200 grams (7 ounces) of fresh fruit and vegetables to the entire population of Den Bosch, about 140,000 people. Their idea is not to grow foods that require much space, like corn or potatoes. "We are looking at the top of the pyramid where we have high value and low volume," he said. Sunlight is not only unnecessary but can be harmful, says Meeuws. Plants need only specific wavelengths of light to grow, but in nature they must adapt to the full range of light as a matter of survival. When light and other natural elements are manipulated, the plants become more efficient, using less energy to grow. "Nature is good, but too much nature is killing," said Meeuws, standing in a steaming cubicle amid racks of what he called "happy plants." For more than a decade the four researchers have been tinkering with combinations of light, soil and temperature on a variety of plants, and now say their growth rate is three times faster than under greenhouse conditions. They use no pesticides, and about 90 percent less water than outdoors agriculture. While LED bulbs are expensive, the cost is steadily dropping. Olaf van Kooten, a professor of horticulture at Wageningen University who has observed the project but has no stake in it, says a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of tomatoes grown in Israeli fields needs 60 liters (16 gallons) of water, while those grown in a Dutch greenhouse require one-quarter of that. "With this system it is possible in principle to produce a kilo of tomatoes with a little over one liter of water," he said.
The researchers were able to demonstrate unequivocally the technical feasibility of the new approach with successful working system already in place. What is needed is to commercialize the innovation and prove its economic viability in no uncertain terms. It has to be appreciated that the system does not need dangerous chemical protectants and is totally independent of the weather conditions any time of the year. Probably the World Bank and FAO should explore the possibility of investing in setting up a joint program in collaboration with the Dutch scientists to expedite the development and bring the benefits to countries which are hard pressed to provide enough food to their population. Retailers should also pitch in by supporting the program because many big retailers with resources can set up such growing facilities near their consumer out lets so that many fruits and vegetables can be brought in most fresh condition to the fresh produce shelves with minimum lapse of time between harvest and sale.
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