Combining Artificial Intelligence With Urban Farming Can Be A Game Changer for Developing Countries

An Israeli agtech company called Seedo might have the solution for the challenges of urban agriculture in vulnerable areas such as the Caribbean, that struggle with environmental and climate factors that lead to crop loss. Latin and America and the Caribbean is the most urbanised region in the world with up to 80% of the region's population residing in cities (UN-Habitat 2012). While urbanization is an important element of economic growth and modernization, the diminishing ratio of food producers to food consumers in urban settings negatively impacts local food systems, causing populations to be more susceptible to non-communicable diseases, obesity and undernourishment. Urban farming practices such as rooftop gardens, community greenhouses and vertical farms have provided an alternative to rural agriculture, but given the high cost of urban land, space and size limitations, non-conducive environmental conditions and limited human resources, these methods have not been without their challenges. Vertical farming's "closed and controlled" approach has been successful in eliminating the risk of insects, pests and diseases that are prevalent in traditional agricultural systems but the infrastructure required has typically been cost-prohibitive and highly reliant on fossil fuels (solar power is typically not enough).