Could the new space created by plans to roof part of Regional Road be used to promote an innovative “urban farming” concept and reconnect people with the source of their produce?
The government announced last March it was looking into roofing a section of the road close to the Santa Venera tunnels and developing “green infrastructure” at street level.
However, a thesis project by an architecture student, prepared before the government’s plans were announced, would go further. The student is proposing utilising the new space to develop an agricultural facility capable of growing fresh produce on a commercial scale using sustainable and innovative technologies.
Jean Vella, who stressed that his was a purely conceptual proposal, told the Times of Malta the idea was based on the rapidly developing field of urban farming, which brought traditional food-growing methods to an urban setting, maximising space through vertical growing. Mr Vella said the proposal aimed to mitigate some key local problems: a lack of land, water resources and the potential for growth in the agriculture sector.
The student is proposing using the new space to develop a facility for growing fresh produce on a commercial scale
Rather than taking up more virgin land, the growing facility would use land within the urban core. To minimise water use, it would employ hydroponics, a soil-less growing system whereby roots are supplied directly with nutrients, with a tailor-made recipe for each plant.
As the produce would be grown in a completely controlled setting, no pesticides would be needed, and the environment would be customisable to the plants’ specific requirements.
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Mr Vella noted that a key component would be community involvement, including a visitor centre and research facility to help educate people about where their food came from and a local market selling produce directly to the public.
Though the proposal was not actually intended to become reality, it offered a thought-provoking take on the prevailing problems in the agricultural sector.
The Times of Malta reported in December fears within the sector that local farming had become economically unsustainable and, at the current rate, could be extinct within 10 to 15 years due to competition from imported produce and pressures from water scarcity and declining land.
A draft national agricultural policy published in March calls for farmers to transform themselves into “rural entrepreneurs” to revitalise the sector, with a focus on rural tourism, business incubators for farmers to join forces and plan their operations together, and smart technologies to increase efficiency.
