Unused metro stations in Taiwan have been converted into vertical farms to grow sustainable and organic food.
“One thing that most people are worried about is the unavoidable use of pesticides in traditional land based farming,” says Julia Yang, an executive of Unimicron Technology, the company behind the vertical farm.
Lettuce is grown under LED lights in a sterile, hydroponic farm, which eliminates entirely the use of pesticides and herbicides. What’s more, the “metro farm” is quite an effective use of space. Taiwan has a total surface area of 37,197 km² but its population stands at 23.57 million people – using space efficiently is crucial for the nation’s growth and self-sufficiency. The same technologies may soon be useful in other small and densely populated countries – such as Singapore, Monaco, and Malta – as well.
