Urban farming

Passage

Urban farming, the practice of growing food within cities, has expanded rapidly in recent years. Rooftops, vacant lots and even disused warehouses are being transformed into productive growing spaces. Supporters argue that it shortens supply chains, provides fresh produce in neighbourhoods that lack it, and reconnects city dwellers with the source of their food. Critics counter that the amounts produced are tiny compared with rural agriculture, and that the energy and water required can make some high-tech indoor farms surprisingly inefficient. Most experts agree that urban farming is best seen not as a replacement for conventional agriculture but as a useful complement to it.