Urban Farming

A couple of interesting applications could come together in the relatively new future to bring farming to urban centres. The first is the concept of vertical farming talked about here. This globe and mail article also talks about a BC entrepreneur developing urban barns for growing crops.

The second application is the technology that may enable these concepts to take off already exists. From my experience working at a fibre-optics devices company, I thought it might be a good to develop a device that would capture sunlight and divert it indoors using fibre optic cables. Bring outdoor lighting indoors. I did some research and someone's already ahead of the game in this area as described in this article from ecogeek.org.

Indoor growing operations aren't a new idea. Drug dealers have recognized the profit potential for them and it's a big problem as far as Canada's law enforcement is concerned.

The major drawback is electricity consumption. Plants need a lot of light and heat to grow properly. Urban indoor farms will have to consume a lot of energy to grow crops. A technology that allows these farmers to bring sunlight indoors and allow them to grow common vegetables year-round will work towards reducing the energy costs of an operation, especially here in Canada. The initial capital cost for the building, equipment, and lighting technology will be high and I'm not sure that the price point of the vegetables produced in these farms will be palatable for consumers. It would be an interesting pilot study project to examine the profitability of these urban farms. Maybe a single-level warehouse in a suburban industrial zone might be a good spot to start. If you let your mind wander a little bit, the possibility of growing bananas in Canada at some point in the future doesn't seem too implausible.