Emerging Technologies to Enable Sustainable Controlled Environment Agriculture in the Extreme Environments of Middle East-North Africa Coastal Regions

Lefers, Ryan; Tester, Mark; Lauersen, Kyle J.

doi:10.3389/fpls.2020.00801

Cited by 18 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 49 publications

(54 reference statements)

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“…Some claims are based on the idea that experience growing food in extreme environments in space can help improve food security and increase food production in extreme environments on Earth (e.g., in the desert or remote arctic). For example, in some of the coastal regions of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), deemed as "extreme environments", scholars are reframing the narrative of the challenging landscape as an "incredible untapped development potential" waiting for the right technologies (Lefers et al, 2020). As the authors of this study argue, through controlled environment agriculture, greenhouses, infrared collecting solar panels, and low-energy saltwater cooling, these marginal lands have the potential for productive agriculture (Lefers et al, 2020).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…For example, in some of the coastal regions of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), deemed as "extreme environments", scholars are reframing the narrative of the challenging landscape as an "incredible untapped development potential" waiting for the right technologies (Lefers et al, 2020). As the authors of this study argue, through controlled environment agriculture, greenhouses, infrared collecting solar panels, and low-energy saltwater cooling, these marginal lands have the potential for productive agriculture (Lefers et al, 2020). Beyond deserts in the MENA region, other studies covering "extreme environments" have focused on the Arctic and Northern environments, particularly on technological innovations that are being used to increase food security and reduce Northern reliance on imported foods from southern regions (Chen and Natcher, 2019).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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To the farm, Mars, and beyond: Technologies for growing food in space, the future of long-duration space missions, and earth implications in English news media coverage

Shaw

Soma²

2022

Front. Commun.

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The climate crisis, natural resource exploitation, and concerns around how to feed a growing world population have resulted in a growing chorus identifying the need for a Plan B. For some, this Plan B entails preparing for long-duration space missions and the development of human settlement on Mars. To plan for long-duration space missions, the development of food production technologies that can withstand extreme conditions such as poor soil, lack of gravity, and radiation are increasingly prioritized. These technologies may include genetic engineering, digital agriculture, 3D bioprinting, synthetically grown meat and more. Government and corporate proponents of long-duration space missions—NASA and SpaceX, among others—are actively funding agricultural research in space. They argue that the technologies developed for space will have positive implications beyond Mars—directly benefitting Earth and its inhabitants. This paper demonstrates that news reporting on the technology has been overall uncritical. Media narratives surrounding issues of food growth in space have not been studied. This study analyzes how English news media coverage (n = 170) from 67 publications report the feasibility of long-duration space missions, human settlements, and high-tech agricultural technologies. We provide a cross-section of the types of agricultural technologies being covered, the key organizations and actors in the field, and a critical analysis of media narratives. Using mixed methods content and discourse analysis, this study finds that the news media publications overwhelmingly portray long-duration space missions as both inevitable and a positive good for humanity. Without critically assessing the societal implications of food technologies for long-duration space missions vis-à-vis their benefits on Earth, we risk glossing over systemic and structural inequalities in the food system.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

To the farm, Mars, and beyond: Technologies for growing food in space, the future of long-duration space missions, and earth implications in English news media coverage

Shaw

Soma²

2022

Front. Commun.

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“…Regarding the level of conditioning of the growing system, three categories were created: “controlled‐environment agriculture with sunlight,” “controlled‐environment agriculture with artificial light,” and “open‐air agriculture.” Controlled‐environment agriculture is a technology‐based approach to food production that consists of protecting crops from outdoor elements to maintain optimal growing conditions throughout their developmental cycle (Lefers et al., 2020; Shamshiri et al., 2018). The category “controlled‐environment agriculture with sunlight” gathers controlled‐environment systems (such as polytunnels and greenhouses) where the lighting is provided naturally via sunlight, most often thanks to see‐through walls and roofs or see‐through polyethene covering.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Much Food Can We Grow in Urban Areas? Food Production and Crop Yields of Urban Agriculture: A Meta‐Analysis

et al. 2022

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Urban agriculture can contribute to food security, food system resilience and sustainability at the city level. While studies have examined urban agricultural productivity, we lack systemic knowledge of how agricultural productivity of urban systems compares to conventional agriculture and how productivity varies for different urban spaces (e.g., allotments vs. rooftops vs. indoor farming) and growing systems (e.g., hydroponics vs. soil‐based agriculture). Here, we present a global meta‐analysis that seeks to quantify crop yields of urban agriculture for a broad range of crops and explore differences in yields for distinct urban spaces and growing systems. We found 200 studies reporting urban crop yields, from which 2,062 observations were extracted. Lettuces and chicories were the most studied urban grown crops. We observed high agronomic suitability of urban areas, with urban agricultural yields on par with or greater than global average conventional agricultural yields. “Cucumbers and gherkins” was the category of crops for which differences in yields between urban and conventional agriculture were the greatest (17 kg m−2 cycle−1 vs. 3.8 kg m−2 cycle−1). Some urban spaces and growing systems also had a significant effect on specific crop yields (e.g., tomato yields in hydroponic systems were significantly greater than tomato yields in soil‐based systems). This analysis provides a more robust, globally relevant evidence base on the productivity of urban agriculture that can be used in future research and practice relating to urban agriculture, especially in scaling‐up studies aiming to estimate the self‐sufficiency of cities and towns and their potential to meet local food demand.

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“…IF spans several subject areas as such it is difficult to provide a completely exhaustive review covering all its relevant aspects. As a result, published reviews on IF turn to focus on specific topics such as greenhouse types and their structural components [ 22 ], components of soilless mixes and potting mixes [ 23 ], energy efficiency [ 24 ], IF applications in various environments including tropical and extreme [ 25 , 26 ], light technologies [ 27 ], hydroponic technologies [ 28 ], aeroponics [ 29 ], aquaponics [ 30 ]. Other reviews and reports have provided broader reviews with varied foci such as the history, industry landscape and impacts and discussions on some of the structures and production systems [ 10 , 28 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor Vegetable Production: An Alternative Approach to Increasing Cultivation

Ampim

Obeng

Olvera-González

2022

Plants

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As the world’s population is increasing exponentially, human diets have changed to less healthy foods resulting in detrimental health complications. Increasing vegetable intake by both rural and urban dwellers can help address this issue. However, these communities often face the challenge of limited vegetable supply and accessibility. More so, open field vegetable production cannot supply all the vegetable needs because biotic and abiotic stress factors often hinder production. Alternative approaches such as vegetable production in greenhouses, indoor farms, high tunnels, and screenhouses can help fill the gap in the supply chain. These alternative production methods provide opportunities to use less resources such as land space, pesticide, and water. They also make possible the control of production factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide, as well as extension of the growing season. Some of these production systems also make the supply and distribution of nutrients to crops easier and more uniform to enhance crop growth and yield. This paper reviews these alternative vegetable production approaches which include hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics and soilless mixes to reveal the need for exploring them further to increase crop production. The paper also discusses facilities used, plant growth factors, current challenges including energy costs and prospects.

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Emerging Technologies to Enable Sustainable Controlled Environment Agriculture in the Extreme Environments of Middle East-North Africa Coastal Regions

Abstract: Global changes in mean surface temperatures are driving increased extreme environmental events which are beyond the tolerance of traditional agricultural practices, creating concerns of food insecurity (

Cited by 18 publications

References 49 publications

To the farm, Mars, and beyond: Technologies for growing food in space, the future of long-duration space missions, and earth implications in English news media coverage

To the farm, Mars, and beyond: Technologies for growing food in space, the future of long-duration space missions, and earth implications in English news media coverage

How Much Food Can We Grow in Urban Areas? Food Production and Crop Yields of Urban Agriculture: A Meta‐Analysis

Indoor Vegetable Production: An Alternative Approach to Increasing Cultivation

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