(Vertical farm in Navotas City/via Navotas PIO)

Cooking is now possible without the use of oil, but can plants grow without soil? 

The food production sector of the country continues to face challenges that are rooted in the intensifying state of climate change. 

In response to this widespread phenomenon, various climate-resilient systems are being developed with the aid of technology to ensure the productivity of the sector despite its vulnerability to climate crisis. 

Vertical farming, in particular, is one of the green innovations that offer a viable solution to enhance food production using a plant-growing system called aeroponics. 

Aeroponics mainly optimizes cultivation of crops in a regulated environment by only using air and a nutrient-rich mist, eliminating soil usage without necessarily sacrificing the nutritional content of plants.

In one of their space-farming experiments, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) inferred that shifting to aeroponic technology is cost-effective as it reduces the required use of water by 98% and fertilizer by 60% to support plant growth. 

The yielded crops in an aeroponic environment are also found to be healthier because these are suspended in air and therefore not exposed to pesticides as well as to soil-borne diseases. 

Without utilizing more natural land, food producers can likewise accelerate the cycle of growing crops to yield sufficient supply given that they can plant and harvest all year round without interruption through the aeroponic system. 

In the Philippines, there is a locally existing 12-tower vertical farm that can be found in NavotaAs Homes 2-Tanza, Navotas City. 

This was built in 2020 as part of the local government’s effort in ensuring that its residents have a sustainable food source amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The said number of greenhouse towers in this urban farm is equivalent to a 3-hectare traditional farm whose yields are benefitting around 500 families in surrounding communities. 

In view of these advantages, aeroponic farming is a potential source of sustainable food systems that can further advance the country’s food security agenda. (PIA-NCR)