IT ’ S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY
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urban and vertical farming techniques , the industry isn ’ t immune to teething troubles . While environmentally sustainable ( although a number of urban farms still use pesticides ), vertical farms have been struggling to compete financially as a combination of electricity costs , small scale operations and higher rent in urban areas conspire to make profitability a challenge . According to a report by Emerald Insight , less than a third of urban farmers in the US are making a living from their operations . There are , it would seem , two solutions to this problem :
IT ’ S NOT ABOUT THE MONEY
One of the major benefits of vertical farming systems is that , thanks to a technique like aquaponics , and increasingly cheap IoT technology , urban farming doesn ’ t need to be a full time job . A majority of urban farms in the US are registered non-profits or community projects . Dividing the work among a neighbourhood or even a block of flats could make for selfcontained farming communities in the city that are free from depending on imported , expensive produce .
Founded in 2009 , Colorado-based
FEBRUARY 2020