Solar Greenhouse Technology for Food Security: A Case Study From Humla District, NW Nepal

Fuller, Robert; Zahnd, A.

doi:10.1659/mrd-journal-d-12-00057.1

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…For example, in the state of San Luis Potosi in 2011 a pilot program developed by the government to produce amaranth in 20 hectares of greenhouses was launched. Greenhouses can intensify agricultural production if appropriate measures are taken to accelerate the development of crops and increase the amount of biomass per unit of cultivated area, compared with open-field conditions (Fuller and Zahnd, 2012). As greenhouses allow for crops to develop with little risk to production, protect plants unlike open-field crops, which are exposed to greater environmental changes and depend on natural factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Chemical Composition and Growth of Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) between Greenhouse and Open Field Systems

Chávez-Servín¹,

Cabrera-Baeza²,

Ugalde³

et al. 2017

IJAB

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. Cultivation was performed directly in irrigated furrows without fertilizers. The same soil type was used for both cropping systems. Number of leaves, plant height, stem diameter, length of seeds, panicle length, biomass and grain yield, grain area, percentage of popped and sprouted grain, and chemical composition were compared. The variables under greenhouse cultivation yielded superior results were grain yield (26.5%), biomass (61.2%), plant height (87.4%), stem diameter (24.3%), number of leaves (2.4%), panicle length (18.4%), percentage of popped grain (2%) and sprouted grain (7%) than field cultivation. Open field cultivation improved protein, fat and ash (9.0%, 17.6% and 43.1%, respectively), and grain size (22.5%) than greenhouse production. Thus, it may be concluded that greenhouse cultivation of A. hypochondriacus crop provides for higher yields, but inferior chemical composition values compared to the open field cultivation system.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Chemical Composition and Growth of Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) between Greenhouse and Open Field Systems

Chávez-Servín¹,

Cabrera-Baeza²,

Ugalde³

et al. 2017

IJAB

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“…In 2017, an F. oxysporum fungal outbreak infected pepper greenhouses in Essex County, Ontario, resulting in major plant loss; in a single example, one greenhouse operation experienced over 12% pepper mortality [35] (pp. [121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132]. One challenge with many crop pathogens is their largely undetectable presence at early stages of infection, allowing mitigation only after significant crop damage has occurred [36] (pp.…”

Section: Challenges Facing the Canadian Greenhouse Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Greenhouse implementation in rural and impoverished areas around the globe can be less financially accessible as they do not reap the benefits of industrially integrated operations. For example, initiatives to help address food insecurity in mountainous regions of India and Nepal are challenging due to a lack of financial feasibility [132]. To meet these unique challenges, locally sourced building resources are being leveraged, and in Nepal's Humla district, solar greenhouses are designed for reduced heat loss and improved performance while being constructed from locally sourced wood, rocks, and mud [132].…”

Section: Global Greenhouse Development Initiativesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Canadian Greenhouse Operations and Their Potential to Enhance Domestic Food Security

LaPlante¹,

Andrekovic²,

Young³

et al. 2021

Agronomy

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Food security is a growing societal challenge. The pressure to feed a projected global population of 9.6 billion by 2050 will continue to be limited by decreasing arable land. The recent disruptions in international trade resulting from responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of regional self-reliance in food production. While Canada is highly self-reliant in food categories such as meat and dairy, the nation relies heavily on international imports to fulfill fresh vegetable demands. In potential future scenarios where international trade faces disruptions, Canadian food security could be at risk. By providing local sources of fresh foods year-round, the greenhouse vegetable industry holds strong potential to overcome future food supply shortages and could become a critical contributor to self-sustainable food production in Canada. Many challenges, however, surround the Canadian greenhouse industry. Some challenges include the persistence and spread of infectious plant pathogens and forecasted labour shortages. Opportunities to alleviate such challenges include introducing more diverse commodity groups and integrating innovative technologies to accelerate efficiency within the industry. In this commentary, we examine the current state of the Canadian greenhouse industry, explore potential challenges, and highlight opportunities that could promote food security across the nation.

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“…Procedures for making substrates at local sites include: (a) from crop straw to fermentation to the final substrate product, and (b) the potential reuse of the substrate after restoration of the nutrient content light utilization (Cuce et al 2016). Use of solar energy for greenhouse crop production has made progress in many areas/countries (Farjana et al 2018), including Australia, Japan (Cossu et al 2017), Israel (Castello et al 2017), and Germany (Schmidt et al 2012), as well as developing countries such as Nepal (Fuller and Zahnd 2012) and India (Tiwari et al 2016). In China, the installation of modern solar modules is expensive at present, with an estimated payback period of 9 years (Wang et al 2017).…”

Section: Increased Energy Use Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Gobi agriculture: an innovative farming system that increases energy and water use efficiencies. A review

Xie

Chen

et al. 2018

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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In populated regions/countries with fast economic development, such as Africa, China, and India, arable land is rapidly shrinking due to urban construction and other industrial uses for the land. This creates unprecedented challenges to produce enough food to satisfy the increased food demands. Can the millions of desert-like, non-arable hectares be developed for food production? Can the abundantly available solar energy be used for crop production in controlled environments, such as solar-based greenhouses? Here, we review an innovative cultivation system, namely "Gobi agriculture." We find that the innovative Gobi agriculture system has six unique characteristics: (i) it uses desert-like land resources with solar energy as the only energy source to produce fresh fruit and vegetables year-round, unlike conventional greenhouse production where the energy need is satisfied via burning fossil fuels or electrical consumption; (ii) clusters of individual cultivation units are made using locally available materials such as clay soil for the north walls of the facilities; (iii) land productivity (fresh produce per unit land per year) is 10-27 times higher and crop water use efficiency 20-35 times greater than traditional open-field, irrigated cultivation systems; (iv) crop nutrients are provided mainly via locallymade organic substrates, which reduce synthetic inorganic fertilizer use in crop production; (v) products have a lower environmental footprint than open-field cultivation due to solar energy as the only energy source and high crop yields per unit of input; and (vi) it creates rural employment, which improves the stability of rural communities. While this system has been described as a "Gobi-land miracle" for socioeconomic development, many challenges need to be addressed, such as water constraints, product safety, and ecological implications. We suggest that relevant policies are developed to ensure that the system boosts food production and enhances rural socioeconomics while protecting the fragile ecological environment.

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Solar Greenhouse Technology for Food Security: A Case Study From Humla District, NW Nepal

Cited by 11 publications

References 5 publications

Comparison of Chemical Composition and Growth of Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) between Greenhouse and Open Field Systems

Comparison of Chemical Composition and Growth of Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) between Greenhouse and Open Field Systems

Canadian Greenhouse Operations and Their Potential to Enhance Domestic Food Security

Gobi agriculture: an innovative farming system that increases energy and water use efficiencies. A review

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