Turning carparks into urban horticulture farms, creating floating glasshouses and building container farms are just some of the opportunities explored in a new report.
How do we find high-tech farming solutions in the face of increasing climate variability in Australia?
A new report — commissioned by Hort Innovation, and developed by agricultural consultancy RMCG in partnership with University of Technology Sydney and global urban agriculture consultancy Agritecture — may have the answers.
The Opportunities for High-Technology Horticulture in Australia report considers effective urban farming applications being used overseas, in the Australian context.
The report considers the types of high-technology farming operations that could work in Australia and makes a number of recommendations to improve the feasibility of the approach, such as capacity building for producers and improving social acceptance through community engagement.
Hort Innovation research and development manager Vino Rajandran said high-technology urban farming was an emerging part of the horticulture sector in Australia.
He said despite low adoption of these new high-technology production systems in Australia compared to Asia, North America and Europe, there was increasing interest.
“As Australia’s climate becomes increasingly variable, the consumer demand for locally-grown produce increases and sustainable production comes to the fore, technology-controlled local production systems are attracting more interest.”
Dr Rajandran said high-technology urban horticulture systems were a natural complement to traditional horticulture production systems, and the emerging industry would need to identify its value proposition in the Australian context.
“High-tech urban farming has the potential to attract a younger, more technology-oriented generation towards farming, and offer opportunities for technology-based graduates to join the industry.”
RMCG associate Kristen Stirling said the report reviewed systems such as rooftop and floating glasshouses, growing approaches using building facades and inside building production — but not all systems were viable in Australia.
“High-technology horticulture has its benefits over field-based production, in that it can be climate controlled, and production is not necessarily based on certain seasons,” Dr Stirling said.
“However, there are factors that increase cost such as high land prices in city areas and the significant expenditure required to establish glasshouses inside or on top of buildings.
“In terms of social, financial and environmental performance, we found the best performing high-technology system for Australian conditions was the building facade, followed by a rooftop glasshouse using a vertical production system.”
Dr Stirling said the success of individual enterprises was also heavily dependent on the product line chosen, the business model used and the skill and aptitude of the farm manager.
“High-technology horticulture, like any other agricultural enterprise, is a business that requires careful planning and good management.”
The study was guided by an industry-led reference group including growers and emerging commercial leaders engaged in urban high-technology horticulture in Brisbane and Sydney, members of local city councils, and subject-matter experts in protected cropping.