As smart farming techniques hydroponic reduce food insecurity in urban areas. This has shown a promising result. In 1960, Kenya had a population of 8.12 million, with approximately 11.8% of the total population living in urban areas. In the year 2023, the Kenyan population is roughly 57.2 million people with the urban population being 29% of the total population. This urban population is also predicted to increase further by the year 2050. This shift in population in urban areas clearly raises concerns (The United Nations Habitat Program). The question is, “how will we feed those people in urban areas?” Experts agree that adopting Hydroponics help reduce food insecurity.
Overview in Kenya
In our country today, arable land for agriculture is increasingly declining as a result of rapidly growing populations. Ideally, this comes with the lack of equivalent growth in land supply since land does not increase with a rising population.
Noteworthy, conversion of arable Agricultural land into homestead, factories, and businesses, and for other urbanization purposes, agriculture is pushed into non-productive lands such as hilly, terrain, or rocky areas. This has negative impacts on food security and water supply.
As the urban population continues to skyrocket and the rate of urbanization increases, the demand for food grows. The results are a strain of feeding the urban population. This has resulted in an over-reliance on food imports from other countries.
Similarly, there is exploitation of the remaining small agricultural land. This results from the overuse of inorganic chemicals in an attempt to maximize available land’s productivity. The consequences of the arable land exploitation are among others, soil degradation and environmental pollution.
With all the challenges mentioned, Hydroponic farming techniques in urban areas are a game changer, a new way to grow crops without using soils that have limited resources. It has the potential to reduce urban poverty and food insecurity and improve urban environmental management.
Contribution of hydroponics reduce food security in urban areas.
Urban Hydroponics enhances living space.
Hydroponics requires significantly less space than soil culture. For example, depending on the system, when hydroponics and vertical farming techniques are used together, they can use up to 99% fewer spaces than soil-based farming. Additionally, since hydroponics provides plants with all the needed nutrients, less spacing allows many plants in a small space.
Doorstep year-round production
The use of hydroponics in urban areas can provide a variety of healthy fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the year. Consequently, this reduces transportation costs associated with soil-based agriculture, where food produced in local areas must take a long transport chain before reaching the ultimate consumer.
It is a potential income for the poorest people
Today, cities are potential places to produce food if appropriate measures are implemented for the inhabitants of these areas. In urban areas where hydroponics agriculture has been established, production is aimed at household consumption and surplus sales. In some urban areas, hydroponics is used for large-scale production as an agri-business. These have helped generate income among town dwellers.
Creating job opportunities.
The introduction of hydroponics in urban areas has played a major role in creating jobs. A large number of young people living in urban areas are unemployed. The establishment of commercial hydroponics has employed many of these youths as casual workers and others as technical staff, helping to alleviate poverty in urban areas.
Help in cleaning and adding beauty to the urban environment
Today, many buildings incorporate various hydroponics systems into their designs to meet the increasing demand for environmentally friendly buildings. The construction walls are used to sustain various plants using hydroponics technologies. Notably, plants help in cleaning the air in urban areas and add beauty to the urban areas.
Hydroponics technologies can be sustainable farming approaches that can help reduce food insecurity in urban areas today. Noteworthy, the only limiting factor is the lack of knowledge about hydroponics agriculture in urban areas. A lot of people have no clue how that system works. Through training and awareness, the government can help raise awareness of the benefits of urban agriculture and encourage its adoption through outreach programs.
