Since the towns are slowly devouring the countryside, why can’t we bring the countryside into the towns? Long considered a utopian fantasy, this idea has caught on and some remarkable projects have emerged.
“Green Towers” are all the rage. There will be 7 billion people to feed on this planet by 2050 and the concept of urban farms is being disseminated all over the world: in Singapore, Japan, Montreal and Paris, the supporters of vertical agriculture are having a field day. 15 years on, no mega- farm has appeared yet, but the idea is now far from utopian.
Since the towns are slowly devouring the countryside, why can’t we bring the countryside into the towns? Long considered a utopian fantasy, this idea has caught on and some remarkable projects have emerged.
“Green Towers” are all the rage. There will be 7 billion people to feed on this planet by 2050 and the concept of urban farms is being disseminated all over the world: in Singapore, Japan, Montreal and Paris, the supporters of vertical agriculture are having a field day. 15 years on, no mega- farm has appeared yet, but the idea is now far from utopian.
It is not at all certain, however, that everyone is convinced by this type of technology-driven agriculture; and neither are all of the consumers of these vegetables particularly keen on the idea of vegetables being produced like something straight out of a science fiction novel. Will we have to get used to this new form of agriculture and what kind of a future will we have? Or shall we continue to support our agriculture, which is also at the forefront of progress and the custodian of our rural landscape, not to mention our irrigation systems, with their cutting-edge technology and extremely efficient use of water, as you will discover on the following pages, in the VRI articles on pivots, drip irrigation or central irrigation control systems.