NG SOCK LING looks at the different ways crops are produced around the world.
A high-tech farming system in Siberia, where leafy greens are grown in a greenhouse under controlled conditions. It yields 10 times as much crops as traditional farming and needs very little chemical pesticides. Could this be the answer to feeding the world’s population? [Photo: Luca Locatelli]
Seeding season in Kimba, South Australia. A conducive climate and modern farming methods like crop rotation, fertilisers, and weed and pest management produce good quality crops in abundance. South Australia exports some 5 million tonnes of grains to the rest of the world. These include barley, oats, and wheat. [Photo: Randall Cliff]
Lit by LED lights, a vertical farm glows golden in a repurposed warehouse in Newark, USA. The stacked construction allows farming to take place in a tight space, even in the middle of the city. A fertiliser solution is delivered directly to the plants’ roots, saving precious water. And, no pesticides are needed. [Photo: Luca Locatelli]
Mr Valero waters his crops with the help of a small solar-powered water pump. Mr Valero used to be a fisherman at Lake Poopó. However, the lake — the second largest in Bolivia — has dried up due an increasingly warm climate and the overuse of its water. Now, Mr Valero hopes farming will feed his family. [Photo: Marco Garofalo]
VOCAB BUILDER
greenhouse (say “green-haus”; noun) = a glass building for growing plants, where plants are protected from the cold weather.
repurposed (say “ri-per-pes’d”; verb) = adapted for a different use.
• All the photos are shortlisted entries for the 2020 Sony World Photography Awards