Nowadays, almost all the world's population is living in cities. However, farming still takes place in the countrysides. As a result of this, our food travels thousands of miles to reach us. During this period, fruits and vegetables lose many nutrients; for example, spinach loses around 50-90% of its vitamin C within 24 hours of being harvested.

Vitamin C, E, and B are all important antioxidants that protect against diseases. These vitamins are highly time-sensitive. Therefore, people living in cities are not eating food as nutritious as they think they are.

Why Decentralize Agriculture?

Ideally, food must be grown right where people live. Doing so would not only give us higher quality food products, but it would also help combat the food waste problem as more of the food produced would go directly to people who need it.

According to a study conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, around 40% of the food is wasted due to pre and post-harvest losses. This is a significant number in a world where many families sleep hungry.

In cities, today, most people don’t grow their own food. As a result, centralized food production dominates our systems in such a way that most people no longer know where their tangerines and tomatoes originate.

Currently, many contemporary farmers are forced to adapt their farming techniques to compete globally. This means that they must use every resource-dependent techniques and focus on producing more with the help of machinery like tractors, chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides, non-natural GMO seeds, and other methods that exploit people and the planet.

Decentralization of agriculture is the simplest solution to most of the problems discussed above. Decentralized agriculture has the potential to grow sufficient and quality food and feed the world.

Benefits of Decentralized Agriculture System

• Reduction in food waste
• Greater nutritional content in food
• Better tasting food
• Year-round production (if using modern indoor technologies to grow good)
• Much lower impact of pests and diseases
• Avoiding foodborne illnesses
• Lower costs
• Lower carbon footprint
• Greener cities
• More homes for birds
• Better usage of available resources
• No shortage of food in crisis (for example, COVID-19 hampered food supply chain)
• Lesser pollution in cities
• Lesser water requirement (if using modern indoor technologies to grow good)

How to Implement a Decentralized Agriculture System?

Increasing crop production from a limited amount of land is what we need now. Vertical farming indeed makes the most efficient use of resources and gives an impressive yield.

Vertical farming helps farmers minimize the amount of land necessary for crop production by using advanced growing methods such as hydroponics and aeroponics on their skyscrapers above ground instead. Not only does this help increase crop yields, but it also helps make the world greener.

Hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics are new technologies that are attaining massive popularity in numerous countries, primarily in the U.S. Food can be grown year-round and in various climates. Plus, they're efficient and better for the environment, and they help reduce the amount of food shipped from farm to table.

These are great options for people who don't have the space to grow their own food, either because they live in an apartment complex or urban area where land is expensive or because they live in a rural area with limited land. Moreover, people get higher quality fresh food by growing the food by themselves.

Another thing we can opt for in our own home is to start a mini kitchen garden. There aren't too many requirements for space, and one can even start with a small pot or in balconies. Many terrace spaces could also be converted into edible gardens. City dwellers who have fewer spaces could start with sprouts or microgreens instead.

The Future

The global indoor farming technology market is anticipated to reach $12.76 billion by 2026, with a CAGR of 14.80% during the forecast period 2021-2026. The indoor farming market is expected to grow strongly over the next few years, driven chiefly by increasing consumer awareness regarding healthy and fresh food.

Several key players operating in the industry include Agrilyst, Aerofarms, American Hydroponics, Autogrow Systems Ltd., Argus Control System Ltd., General Hydroponics Inc., Freight Farms, GE Lighting, Illumitex, Smart Cannabis Corp., and Signify N.V.

As the demand for quantity and quality food continues to rise, so will the need for a decentralized agriculture system. The market is expected to grow substantially over the next few years, and indoor farming technology will likely be an essential part of the solution to produce all of the food that the global population needs.