Alberto Lopez of Agritecture Consulting was interviewed by Diana Macovei of the Vertical Farming Conference, discussing trends and opportunities in the industry. Read on to see what he has to say.
What drives you?
I believe indoor farming provides part of the solution for the current food system issues, enhancing food production and distribution; it has the means to improve urban food security.
Why should the delegate attend your presentation?
It features a useful tool that allows entrepreneurs around the world to explore the cost and concepts around urban agriculture and make it more effective and easier to get to the next step; it couples a tool to center the main goal of the project and then gives an idea of what it takes to realize it.
What emerging technologies/trends do you see as having the greatest potential in the short and long run?
For increase yields and optimal production, integrated agricultural systems. For food production transparency and traceability, block-chain technologies will make a great improvement. For data recollection, multi-modal sensing integrating machine vision and real time data processing.
What kind of impact do you expect them to have?
Integrated agricultural systems will allow an efficient use of resources, decreasing the environmental impact and de-risking the economic burden for producer itself. Block-chain technologies would allow tracing the source of the agricultural product in an instant, allowing the consumer to view the real impact of the agricultural production on the environment, people and economics. Multi-modal sensing real time data processing will allow automation of more complex environments.
What are the barriers that might stand in the way?
The main barriers are the social resistance to a transition between the current food system and a more efficient system; it is important to achieve changes in production methods, but most important, changes have to be made in our consumption behavior.
“Special quote”
Here at Agritecture, we want to see a world where commercial urban agriculture is economically feasible, reduces the environmental impact of the food system, and improves food security.