A Barcelona based architecture firm has come up with a design to create a solar powered floating farm. The floating farm grows vegetables and catches fish and it could offer a new alternative way for humans to get food.
According to the United Nations, the world population will reach 9.1 billion in 2050, requiring 70 percent more food than we currently produce.
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Some predict the answer to this food-space crisis will be floating farms that can be positioned off the coast of booming cities.
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Combining both hydroponic and vertical farming technologies, this new method of growing food would use large barges stacked high with planter beds.
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The first level would house a fish farm equipped with a desalination plant, water access points, and wave barriers.
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The second level would be an automated pesticide-free hydroponic greenhouse that could grow leafy greens and other vegetables.
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The entire thing would be powered by a rooftop covered in solar panels.
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"The aim of the [smart floating farm] is not to replace traditional farming, not at all,” explain the designers on their website. "But to serve as a flexible farming alternative thinking about the present and the future of food imports and countries with different agricultural challenges."