Implementing Vertical Farming at University Scale to Promote Sustainable Communities: A Feasibility Analysis

He Zhang, Ashish Asutosh and Wei Hu
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He Zhang: M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603, USA
Ashish Asutosh: M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Construction Management, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32603, USA
Wei Hu: School of Statistics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: The issue of food security has affected the well-being of the people for centuries. Academic and industry experts have been constantly developing alternate and better ways to address this issue. One of such innovations is the concept of vertical and zero acreage farming for providing food security and ensuring environmental sustainability. However, this concept has been in its nascent stage, and its development has been sporadic for many years. This paper uses a comprehensive framework to conduct a feasibility analysis of initiating vertical farming on university campuses, which could set an example for using this technique on a large scale. A case study was conducted on a set of 24 canteens across a university in Wuhan, China for accessing the return on investment and food sufficiency using this technique. By using the central limit theorem, a model was developed after investing in 24 canteens in the university, and various scenarios were analyzed. The breakeven on implementing these farms was about 10 to 20 years, with annual profits reaching $92,000 (592,000 RMB).

Keywords: vertical farming; zero acreage farming; university; sustainability; economics; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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