How Hydroponics can Solve Food Shortages
Sustainable Development 2030 agenda emphasizes the need of tackling global concerns like climate change and rising poverty by putting an emphasis on sustainable food production as one of the highest priorities (Brandi 2017; UN 2017). Increasing numbers of people need to be fed, and this demand is being driven in part by the rapid expansion of the global population. The present global population is roughly 7.3 billion people. The estimated number of humans inhabiting the planet in 2050 is 10 billion (Gentry, 2019). As per UN’s sustainable Development Goal 2 (UN 2017, it is expected that roughly 66% population of the world’s lives in metropolitan regions, which means that their food demands must be addressed (Gentry, 2019). According to the report “Global hunger decreased for a decades, but it’s increasing again,” “Insecurity of food – both severe and moderate – has “constantly enhance” since 2014, when the frequency of malnutrition or under-nourishment was at 8.6%. We’re at 8.9% currently. Ten million more people will go hungry this year than last. As this figure illustrates, we are not on the right road to meeting our sustainable development objective for zero world hunger in 2030.
An increase in agricultural output is also required to meet the rising demand for food from the world’s growing population. Therefore, it is necessary to meet the food demands of the additional 2-3 billion individuals by 2050, or, to put it alternative way, to increase food production by around 50% (FAO 2017) in order to feed the additional 2-3 billion people. Additionally, as a result of expanding urbanization around the globe, the labor force and agricultural lands are disappearing at an alarming pace. Agricultural land and forest cover are being lost at an alarming rate as a result of sprawling urban areas and the spread of industry into formerly undeveloped regions. It is essential to increase the amount of farmable land in order to increase food production and fulfil the needs of the rapidly increasing global population. Forests will be cut down, deserts will be transformed into farmland, and mountains and hills will be put to use in agricultural production, all at great expense, difficulty, and difficulty. That’s why it’s possible we’ll consider increasing our output of agricultural goods by employing time-honored techniques. However, environmental conditions, temperatures, soil quality, water needs, and a host of other elements provide significant challenges for conventional farming practices. Grazing areas, groundwater, electricity, and fertilizers are essential to agriculture, but their current usage or deterioration is outpacing their worldwide regeneration (Goddek, 2019).
Therefore, the soil-less agriculture system is the answer to all of these problems, as it not only solves the shortage of farmland but also eliminates the external factors that affect conventional farming. Soilless agriculture is not a new concept; in fact, it was originally discussed and implemented commercially in 1967 (Van et al., 2019) in an effort to boost food output and efficiency. One of the most efficient soilless farming methods is the hydroponic agriculture system (HAS) since it maximizes yield while decreasing inputs including land, water, energy, and fertilizers. Furthermore, HAS food production system is the ideal alternative for food production in cities even when land is marginal since it can be developed or set up inside together with outdoor. Due to its many advantages, such as reduced food production costs, increased efficiency, decreased need for land, water, nutrients, and labor, and reduced seasonal and environmental impacts, this technology is rapidly advancing.
This method can be used to grow plants in urban areas, in greenhouses, or even in space. Hydroponics can solve food shortages by increasing the efficiency of food production, allowing for year-round crop growth, and reducing the amount of land needed for farming. Additionally, hydroponics can be used to grow crops in areas where traditional farming is not possible due to poor soil quality or a lack of water. Overall, hydroponics can be an effective solution for increasing food production and addressing food shortages.
Why Hydroponic
First and foremost, hydroponic agriculture is a soilless way of producing food plants that relies solely on water and nutrients to create nearly any sort of food plant. Two, unlike other systems, this one requires a lot less space for its operation. Accordingly, HAS is a cost-effective and highly profitable 5 method for the production of food (Hydroponic Masterclass, 2020).
Hydroponic Agriculture with Suppression of Wetness (HAS) is weather-independent agriculture. When using poly-house farming techniques, the output rate is not affected by weather extremes like as heat, cold, or precipitation. In this way of gardening, producers can supply restaurants and businesses with the veggies they need, whenever they need them, no matter the season (Hydroponic Masterclass, 2020).
Millions of people go hungry every day, but hydroponics can change that by catering to both the needs of farmers and those of needy people. First, hydroponics allows crops to be grown year-round, which increases food production compared to conventional farming and ensures that consumers have access to seasonal, locally farmed produce all year long. Second, hydroponics would enable people to grow food in areas where land is not arable. As a last point, hydroponics boosts plant growth by 30% to 50% above conventional farming methods. The good news for shoppers is that this also means these products have a higher nutritional content than those grown the conventional way. As a result of these factors, farmers can increase output. Hydroponics has benefits for both the producer and the consumer, but it also has certain drawbacks. Some plant diseases, for instance, might spread more quickly when plants are in close proximity to one another, as is the case with a hydroponics system. Thus, diseased plants should be removed immediately after discovery (Goddek, 2019).
Hydroponics is a long-term answer to the problem of global hunger. To begin, hydroponically produced vegetables take up far less room than their soil-grown counterparts. This is mostly because plant roots do not need to spread as far in order to obtain nutrients and water. Less area is needed to cultivate plants and crops in hydroponic systems, hence this method aids in resource conservation. Second, hydroponic systems have been shown to reduce water usage by as much as 98 percent compared to conventional farming methods (Gooley and F.M, 2003). By doing so, we can reduce our water usage. Most importantly, hydroponics can be done without the use of any harmful chemicals or pesticides. In the long run, this is good for the environment.
Hydroponics, in conclusion, is an engineered, sustainable solution that can help us end world hunger by 2030. Increased yields and reduced inputs are hallmarks of hydroponic systems. In the end, it will aid in feeding the expanding population by enabling food production in areas where there is insufficient farmland or resources.
References
- Brandi, C., 2017. Trade elements in countries’ climate contributions under the Paris Agreement. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) Issue Paper.
- G. J., Gooley and F. M., G.: Integrated agri-aquaculture systems: a resource handbook for Australian industry development. (2003).
- Gentry, M.: Local heat, local food: Integrating vertical hydroponic farming with district in Sweden. Energy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2019.02.119. 2. 174, 191–197 (2019).
- Goddek, S.: Aquaponics Food https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15943-6. Production Systems. (2019).
- Hydroponic Masterclass: Learn Hydroponics India. | Hydroponics Training 2021. , India (2020).
- Joint, F.A.O., World Health Organization and WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 2017. Evaluation of certain contaminants in food: eighty-third report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. World Health Organization
- Van Os, E.A., Gieling, T.H., Heinrich Lieth, J.: Technical equipment in soilless production systems. Elsevier B.V. (2019).