| On Topic
No soil and minimal water ; the new technology that will spark the next agricultural revolution
An award-winning British company is about to radically change the way food crops are grown , resulting in greater yields at lower cost , which will bring profound benefits to farmers , growers and consumers in the developed world and to those in the developing world struggling to grow their own food .
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018 Rushlight Award winner , Airponix , has developed a ground-breaking new food production system which requires no arable land , or even soil , and typically 85 per cent less water than conventional agriculture . Instead , crops can be grown in protective polythene film tunnels , which can easily and cheaply be scaled up from small , home-use chambers through to giant commercial enclosures . Inside , a nutrient-rich water ‘ fog ' is created , by purpose-modified inkjet printheads , which propagates down the long tunnels , feeding the growing plants without the need for soil . This process means crops can be grown in almost any environment since they are protected from the vagaries of the weather and climate change .
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According to Michael Ruggier , CEO & Co-founder of Airponix :
" Trials of our breakthrough technology means that we can produce crops , such as potatoes , with lower production costs and higher quality , competing strongly against conventionally grown new baby potatoes . Additionally , based on results from our small-scale trials , the yields are typically far higher - about 50 times greater per acre per year than those being achieved by commercial growers in the UK and elsewhere ".
" The potential cost of the system is very low and requires little energy to operate . Manual labour is also greatly reduced because harvesting is a simple clean process and root crops don ' t need washing . This means that everyone can benefit from our technology and has the potential to guarantee high-yield high quality food production independent of external environmental conditions ", added Michael .
Agriculture has not changed fundamentally since the ‘ Green Revolution ', in the pre- and postsecond World War periods which saw the introduction of large scale mechanisation , and the extensive use of agri-chemicals such as herbicides , fungicides and pesticides - none of which are needed to control growing conditions in the Airponix system . Growers today are facing many new risk factors ; mainly resulting from climate change and its related side effects , which mean they require far greater control over growing conditions than was possible in the past . This , combined with global population growth , means that by 2030 it is estimated we will need 35 per cent more food , 40 per cent more water and 50 per cent more energy . If there is no new and better technology , or methods for growing crops , food prices and availability will soon become critical in both the developed and developing areas of the world . Radical new thinking was needed and so , in 2016 , Airponix was established by a group of seasoned engineers and horticulturists with the aim of improving and commercialising ‘ aeroponics '; invented and patented over 40 years ago by the company ' s Technical Director and co-founder , John Prewer . Conventional hydroponic and aeroponics systems rely on nutrient-containing mists or sprays to grow crops but , because their droplet sizes are so much larger than those in fogs they tend to coalesce , precipitate out of the air and form large droplets on the roots which inhibit well-oxygenated
10 | Farming Monthly | May 2018 www . farmingmonthly . co . uk