In terms of Traditional soil-based farming, it has many problems; there is no future for the current food production system. Farmland is getting increasingly fragmented [as families expand, successive generations own less land per person] so a decisive change is needed in the way land is farmed, and moving towards sustainable farming. Apart from these Land as well is getting infertile due to the heavy use of fertilizers, and climate change is having its adverse effects. Pragmatically on the other hand, “Hydroponics” the soilless farming, just uses 10% of water as compared to the traditional method. It is a method for growing crops without soil where water uses as the substrate for growing the plants and supplies essential nutrients for the plants and promotes its commercial success. There is no drainage of water or fertilizers into the ground and all the nutrients are re-circulated within the system. As all the parameters such as pH nutrient concentration and water temperature soilless farming gives a higher yield and controlled within the required levels. So employing a sharp change in direction: from horizontal to vertical. When people refer to soil-free agriculture, meaning farming without land, they often mean vertical farming, in which plants are grown on multiple levels in a kind of multistory skyscraper. This is not new for them. The Dennis Robert Hoagland University of California first developed this Hoagland solution where Berkeley has been upgraded and modified over the years in line with the different crops and farming methods.
The advantages
Vertical farming: to get a greater higher yield per sq ft utilizing scarce land in cities
Eco-friendly: as produce is grown locally the urban farms have a smaller carbon footprint
Applying plant nutrients in fertilizers directly to the roots without the problems associated with the soil's composition or the fertilizer's inability to infiltrate into the root system;
No need for heavy machinery to prepare beds for seeds or planting;
Weeds and diseases can be controlled without spraying chemicals and no irrigation systems have to be installed for fertigation;
Erosion of the soil by repeated cultivation is avoided.
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