The Case Study Background Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. (World Food Summit, 1996) As land suitable for farming becomes scarcer owing to factors such as population growth and climate change, one adaptation that is becoming increasingly popular is vertical farming. As the term suggests, vertical farming involves growing food in stacks of shipping containers, elevated racks or water tanks inside high rise buildings. Techniques include hydroponics, aeroponics and aquaculture. Advantages and disadvantages of vertical farming Indoor vertical farming has some distinct advantages over traditional food growing: . Crops can be grown all year - there is no need to worry about the seasons Plants are protected from climate (e.g., long droughts) and weather events (e.g., floods, hailstorms, landslides) . . . (Photo credit: Oasis Biotech) . The carbon footprint of food is minimised when vertical farms are located near major urban areas because distances to market are short There are some disadvantages of vertical farming: Vertical farms are costly to establish. Land near major urban areas is expensive, creating sterile indoor environments is expensive and the stacked growing systems are expensive. One advisory company in the United Kingdom claims that the initial capital cost of an optimum-sized vertical farm of 5,000 sqm floor area is the equivalent of $20 million to $30 million (excluding land) Currently, costs of production are relatively high. In Australia, one company's vertically farmed lettuce retail for about $6 each which is three times the usual retail price of a conventionally grown lettuce There is the risk of contaminated water being brought into the vertical farm which could result in e. coli and possibly other infections in humans Significant amounts of energy are used to run pumps, heating/cooling, and artificial lighting Indoor growing is suitable for leafy vegetables, some root crops and crops with short stems. It is not suitable for crops that need insect pollination or that have long stems e.g., most seed and grain crops including staples such as rice, wheat and maize . It is possible to exclude pests (e.g., caterpillars) and diseases (e.g., root rot) by having a sterile environment - there is no need to use pesticides Use of water is minimised (e.g., there is no water loss by runoff or evaporation) Some fish/crustaceans (e.g., prawns or shrimp) and possibly small animals (e.g., chickens and rabbits) can be farmed vertically Use of land is minimised (e.g., one vertical farming company says it system produces 100 times the output of a traditional farm per hectare.) Vertical farming can take place inside buildings (or outdoors on roof tops)History of vertical farming One of the pioneering businesses in vertical farming is United States-based AeroFarms. This business converted an old steel mill in Newark, New Jersey, into a vertical farm concentrating on leafy greens - kale, mizuna, rocket and watercress. Output is now over 900,000 kg per year from 6,500 sqm of ground footprint. With computer controlled light, water and nutrients, plants are grown on a reusable sheet made from recycled plastic. AeroFarms claims that their production system is 75 times more productive than standard agriculture. Other early adopters of vertical farming in the United States include MyForest in New York that produces 'alternative bacon' from mushroom mycelium and Grov Technologies that produces fodder for cattle from wheatgrass. Vertical farming is spreading from the United States to many other countries including Israel, Japan, Singapore, Italy, Brazil and Australia. Singapore has an official policy of producing 30% if its nutritional needs by 2030 using methods such as vertical farming. Singapore currently imports over 90% of its food from 170 different countries. Disruptions to supply chains during the COVID pandemic demonstrated how vulnerable Singapore was. Even in Australia, which has plenty of relatively cheap land, weather events cause spikes in the price of some food items, e.g., after cyclones in north Queensland decimated banana plantations the 3 price of bananas rose to $14 per kg or more and the heavy rains and flooding in the first half of 2022 saw the price of lettuce rise to $12 each. In Israel, Hargol FoodTech produces 'alternative protein' powder from grasshoppers hatched from eggs in vertical stacks. Vertical farming in Australia was pioneered by Sprout Stack in Sydney in 2016. More recently Eden Towers has been established in Perth (now operating in Sydney, Singapore and Jakarta) and Stacked Farm in Gold Coast. Your task Using the information above and referring to the websites in the links above plus your own additional research, address the following: Analyse one major strategic issue faced by one of the vertical farming businesses referred to above. This issue could involve one or more of the following: finding a place to produce, transport logistics, identifying a market, developing a mission statement, creating a strategic plan, or any other strategic issue discussed in topics 1 to 9 of this unit. Analyse one major organising issue face by one of the vertical farming businesses referred to above. This could include organisation design, developing an appropriately qualified and experienced staff complement (including staff recruitment, selection, induction, training, and performance review), or any other organising issue discussed in topics 1 to 9 of this unit.