Indoor wheat: A food security solution?
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich are experimenting with growing wheat indoors – in a climate chamber. It's a bid to combat grain shortages as a result of extreme weather events and the war in Ukraine.
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00:00 Could this delicate little plant help fight food shortages?
00:05 The wheat in this climate chamber is still only 7 cm high, but in just 10 weeks' time
00:12 this special variety will be ready for harvesting, up to six times a year.
00:18 "It's growing well.
00:22 It's already flowered, as you can see here.
00:25 The green biomass dies, and what's left behind is the grain in the ears."
00:32 "We can provide long periods of daylight to boost growth.
00:39 We don't have to set special times where it's cooler or warmer.
00:45 We can cultivate the plant at a steady temperature of, say, 23 degrees, and daylight lasting
00:51 18, 20 or even 22 hours.
00:54 And of course, that allows for a harvest with a high yield."
01:00 The team from the Chair of Digital Agriculture at the Technical University of Munich, which
01:06 is also funding the project, control and test various key factors, such as light, temperature,
01:12 nutrient supply and most importantly, water.
01:18 They mainly use a water-nutrient mixture so the water can be recycled, as well as a layer
01:24 of water that doesn't evaporate.
01:27 This means that water consumption is up to 95% lower than in agriculture.
01:34 In recent years, water has proved to be the most unpredictable factor in agricultural
01:39 production.
01:44 In Germany, wheat production remains relatively steady.
01:49 But around the world, it's in decline.
01:53 Droughts and floods are taking a severe toll.
01:58 The Bavarian town of Ansing looks as idyllic as ever.
02:02 But farmer Bernhard Heimerer had to contend with several spells of heavy rain this summer.
02:08 One third of his harvest has been damaged.
02:11 He can now only sell it as animal feed.
02:14 "So this batch is the same variety as that batch.
02:22 But there's no way it can be used for bread.
02:27 Just when the wheat was ready for threshing, it rained torrentially.
02:32 I decided not to thresh it while it was wet because of the drying costs.
02:36 Instead, I decided to wait until it dried out.
02:39 But it rained for 10 or 12 days.
02:42 There was so much precipitation.
02:45 And then part of the harvest was damaged and there was practically no more quality wheat
02:49 left.
02:52 It was extreme this year.
02:54 It went from one extreme, very rainy, to very dry, then rainy again.
02:59 It was extreme this year for sure."
03:05 Growing wheat indoors could be viable not only in regions affected by drought or flooding,
03:10 but also in Germany to reduce the negative impact of agricultural production on the environment.
03:17 "It has many advantages.
03:20 The water requirement is extremely low.
03:23 We have no negative impact on the environment, on biodiversity.
03:28 We don't need crop protection.
03:29 We can control nutrients in a very targeted way.
03:33 But we do have a high energy input, as well as the technical setup, which has a CO2 footprint.
03:39 As things stand, it would be rash to present this to the world as a solution.
03:43 But it's a building block.
03:45 One element in the food production process."
03:49 There's already interest from countries like Singapore, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
03:55 For reasons ranging from lack of space to water shortages, wheat grown indoors is a
04:00 promising option.
04:01 (upbeat music)