Densely Populated Countries Could Find Food Independence With Vertical Floating Farms (xpost fr. GD)

[KamaAina]

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/densely-populated-countries-could-find-food-independence-vertical-floating-farms

Singapore has roughly 5.4 million people crammed into 716 square kilometers (276 square miles), making it the most densely populated country in the world. This country—whose area is less than a quarter of that of Rhode Island—does not have enough room for agriculture and thus imports over 90% of its food from other countries all over the world. Not only does this add considerable cost to food prices for Singaporeans, but the reliance on others might become problematic in the future if availability is low.

While Singapore might not have much land to spare to grow food, it is surrounded by plenty of water. Barcelona-based architect Javier Ponce of JAPA Architects (now under the name of Forward Thinking Architecture) has designed what he calls Floating Responsive Agriculture (FRA). Essentially, they’re large L-shaped structures that float, providing some much-needed space to grow food.

They were imagined to help Singapore—as well other densely populated countries unable to produce enough food for their citizens—gain some independence over their food supply while taking up as little room as possible. The FRA is not designed to be a standalone unit or two; a network of the towers would surround Singapore, allowing all residents to have quick access to locally-grown produce.

The FRA is designed to be incredibly efficient. The structure is oriented in such a way that maximizes sunlight exposure while simultaneously minimizing shadows. The efficiency of sunlight collection is matched by the waste-reduction system. It is envisioned to have an advanced networking system to facilitate between the FRAs and the local markets, ensuring that supply does not dramatically exceed demand. About a third of all food produced around the world goes to waste, so real-time communication about the consumers’ needs will help the FRA cut down on that waste.

I could make a fortune floating a few of these in San Francsico Bay and selling "locally-sourced organic produce" to all the restaurants the technoyuppies frequent.