Dr Paul Myers and Dr Jens Thomas are post-doctoral researchers at the University of Liverpool. They are also business partners, having set up Farm Urban, which aims to link leading scientific research with local food production to transform how we farm our food.
Paul and Jens appeared on the University of Liverpool Podcast to discuss how small, unused spaces in cities could provide a sustainable food future for an increasingly urban global population.
By using technology to farm in spaces such as rooftops and basements, Paul and Jens believe they can create a more sustainable relationship between our communities and the food we eat.
Jens recognises it will not be feasible to shift all farming into urban environments, but says it is possible to envisage a future where a significant percentage of our food is not produced by large-scale farms in the countryside that are focused entirely on profit.
"It's kind of shifting the values we are approaching farming with," he says.
Can we reduce the energy required to grow food?
Jens began to seriously question the energy expended in large-scale food production during a year-long stay at an isolated ranch in Argentina.
With no electricity supply, it was up to Jens to search for, prepare and chop wood every day to manually create any energy he needed – even down to making a cup of tea.
As Jens and Paul started to explore hydroponic and aquaponic growing techniques, interest in their approach began to gather momentum. They won £4,000 in an enterprise competition at the University of Liverpool. This paid for the installation of their first system, before securing further sites, including Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
Hit BBC television programme Countryfile contacted the pair two years into their venture, and an agreement was reached to film a segment on Farm Urban. But a series of mishaps, from a malfunctioning fish feeder through to a hungry pigeon and a nesting seagull, left the pair's urban farm decimated just days before the cameras were due to visit.
How much energy could be saved?
By farming in basements and on roofs, Jens and Paul can use some of the heat currently wasted in city centre buildings. There are also energy savings to be made by not transporting food from countryside farms to urban populations.
In collaboration with the University of Liverpool, Farm Urban has two PhD students researching the energy and financial savings available by adopting urban farming. How much energy does Jens think could be saved?
What kind of urban spaces can we use to grow food?
Jens and Paul calculate that the 200m2 basement they occupy could soon be producing 120kg per week of leafy greens, herbs and salads.
Armed with that potential, they now want to start transforming elements of Liverpool that others perceive as eyesores – starting with the Churchill flyover bridge, which is due to be demolished soon.
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