Reading Passage: Urban Farming
In Paris, urban farmers are trying a soil-free approach to agriculture that uses less space and fewer resources. Could it help cities face the threats to our food supplies?
On top of a striking new exhibition hall in southern Paris, the world’s largest urban rooftop farm has started to bear fruit. Strawberries that are small, intensely flavoured and resplendently red sprout abundantly from large plastic tubes. Peer inside and you see the tubes are completely hollow, the roots of dozens of strawberry plants dangling down inside them. From identical vertical tubes nearby burst row upon row of lettuces; near those are aromatic herbs, such as basil, sage and peppermint.
Pascal Hardy, an engineer, targets that eventually these farms could meet between 5% and 10% of the city’s consumption. He harvests up to 1,000 kg of produce every day. Hardy notes that traditional farming uses many pesticides and involves long journeys. In his system, the quality is better because varieties are selected for flavour, and more money goes to the producers.
Urban farming is diverse: strawberries in containers and mushrooms in underground carparks. The method uses a tiny fraction of the electricity of other techniques and prices are lower than soil-based organic growers, especially during the summer months.
- Vertical tubes are used to grow strawberries, and herbs.
- There will eventually be a daily harvest of as much as in weight.
- The farm will account for 10% of the city’s overall.
| Intensive farming | Aeroponic urban farming |
|---|---|
|
– uses 17 different (4) – survive long (5) – (6) get little income |
– chosen for its (7) |
- Urban farming can take place above or below ground.
- Urban farming relies more on electricity than other types.
- Produce is mostly suited to the summer months.