Agriculture

From The PirateBay-FreeNationFoundation Wiki

Growing food on the island is a possible method of obtaining it.

Growing food is, in the long run, cheaper than importing it. However, growing food requires a significant investment, and lots of space, time, water, and manpower. If the land is not used for growing food, it can be used for more profitable purposes, such as buildings or server racks. It must also be noted that we are currently a community of techies, not farmers..

Suggestions for methods of growing food on the island:

Contents 1 Crops 1.1 Wheat 1.2 Corn 1.3 Rice 1.4 Hemp 1.5 Fruit Trees 1.6 Potatoes 2 Methods 2.1 Fields 2.2 Vertical Farming 2.3 Greenhouses 2.4 Hydroponics

[edit] Crops

[edit] Wheat

Pros: Staple grain

Cons: Possibly not suitable to island climate, hard to process

[edit] Corn

Pros:

Cons:

[edit] Rice

Pros: Staple grain

Cons: Hard to grow, needs large amounts of land

[edit] Hemp

Pros: Easy to grow in most climates, requires no fertilizer or pesticide, very fast growing. Versatile - fiber good for ropes, clothing and paper, pulp for construction/insulation, seeds that can be squeezed for oil which in turn can be used as fuel, either straight or converted to biodiesel (Energy). Has been grown for centuries for these reasons and in most contries. Most Governments allow cultivation of Hemp, with varied legislation possably making outside political pressure minimal. Research into local legislation would have to be done once an island had been chosen.

Cons: Some contries do have restriction on Hemp and may become intrerested in any large cultivation. This could be especialy problematic if it is believed Cannabis sativa (the geneticly similar plant that can be used as a drug) is being grown aswell. The US has taken action on hemp plantations before believing them to be "covers" for cannabis farms.

[edit] Fruit Trees

Pros: Sustainable, low matinence

Cons: Low food production

[edit] Potatoes

Pros:

Cons:

[edit] Methods

[edit] Fields

Pros: Simple, cheap

Cons: Uses a lot of land, might not be able to produce enough food for everyone

[edit] Vertical Farming

Vertical farming (wikipedia) is a conceptual form of farming, where the farming is done in urban high-rises as opposed to fields. In these high-rises food such as fruit, vegetables, fish, and livestock can be raised by using greenhouse growing methods and recycled resources year-round.

Pros: Saves a lot of room, is capable of producing enough food for the entire population

Cons: Requires a significant initial investment; experimental

Additionally, research has been done in underground cultivation. This has the added benefit of not requiring pesticides, as crop killing bugs do not live underground. Additionally, with controlled lighting and heat, less water is required to grow crops.

See also: http://www.verticalfarm.com/

[edit] Greenhouses

Pros: Ability to grow crops native to any type of climate

Cons: Expensive to build and maintain, especially

[edit] Hydroponics

Pros: Efficient. Can be used if there is no fertile soil to grow in.

Cons: Expensive to build and maintain. Needs fertilizers that probably have to be imported.