For the next few weeks, we plan on sharing some insights and reflections from our team members on key topics related to the world of agriculture and indoor farming. We then include real-life examples which add colour to the reflections of our team members.
This week, we asked our CEO, Tinia Pina, "What does controlled environment agriculture (CEA) resiliency look like to you?
These are Tinia's reflections:
Resilience within the context of the industry of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) means, to me, that planning, construction, implementation, and long-term, sustainable operation takes into account reducing an operator's dependency on external inputs that make it more expensive and emissions intensive to operate. Examples include the usage of water, energy, and inputs (where feasible).
As someone who works in the field of agriculture technology, these are what I feel should be the top 3 priorities:
- Water requirements and usage - reducing the need for how much water we are applying, while recovering and capturing freshwater for reuse.
- Using inputs (sourced and rich in organic compounds) that are beneficial to plants increasing their drought tolerance
- Incorporating mixed crop varieties by intercropping so that the synergies between plant species benefit the entire ecosystem in terms of thwarting pests and increasing moisture and water capacity retention.