Indoor vertical farming could boost africa’s food sustainability

Lire en français An intensive plant production system with vertically stacked shelves in a controlled environment of artificial lighting and soilless cultivation systems could transform

Africa’s agriculture, a study in Scientific Reports finds. The indoor vertical farming method provides a more sustainable use of water and mineral nutrients, and offers high, year-round

yields, reduced pesticide or herbicide demands, and resilience to climate change. The researchers assessed all 54 African countries to determine whether indoor vertical farming was feasible

and sustainable. South Africa, Seychelles, Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Cape Verde, and Nigeria had the best prospects for indoor vertical farming implementation. “We want to

reach new generations of young African farmers, scientists, engineers, biotechnologists, builders, developers and entrepreneurs to show a new agricultural future. Africa needs to

revolutionize its agriculture, through innovation and technology. We believe that vertical farming has great potential to alleviate the food crisis in large African cities”, says Giuseppina

Pennisi, researcher at DISTAL – Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, in Italy, who participated in the study.