02. UPROOTING AGRO-SYSTEMS
[Fig.1] Scaled model of Amsterdam food system. Photo credits to Ronald Smits, 2020.
INITIATED– 2020
• urban farming
• local food chain
• community building
• vertical farming
• food forest
• syntropic farming
• local food chain
• community building
• vertical farming
• food forest
• syntropic farming
With increasing urbanisation, finding a way for cities to feed themselves is a big win, easing pressure on the global food chain. So could a city like Amsterdam become agriculturally self-sufficient in the future? Bram de Vos thinks so. With ‘Uprooting Agro-Systems’, he proposes a combination of three agricultural methods. There’s vertical farming, which is useful to guarantee year-round produce, while a food forest offers more variety, despite seasonal limitations. And lastly, there’s syntropic farming: an efficient and eco-friendly alternative to monoculture that involves planting mutually beneficial crops alongside each other without impacting the environment. Together, the pros and cons of each are balanced for the best results.