Economic assessment of greenhouse and vertical farm production systems in arid regions: a case study of Qatar

Fatima-Zahra Lahlou, Farhat Mahmood, Tareq Al-Ansari
{"title":"Economic assessment of greenhouse and vertical farm production systems in arid regions: a case study of Qatar","authors":"Fatima-Zahra Lahlou,&nbsp;Farhat Mahmood,&nbsp;Tareq Al-Ansari","doi":"10.1016/j.clcb.2025.100151","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agriculture in arid regions faces challenges due to environmental constraints that hinder traditional farming methods. Controlled environment agriculture is emerging as a transformative solution, offering sustainable alternatives to these traditional practices. While the economic viability of vertical farms has been demonstrated in various contexts, such conclusions cannot be universally applied without considering specific regional characteristics. This highlights the necessity for detailed case studies. This research evaluates controlled environment agriculture within Qatar, comparing centralized greenhouses to decentralized vertical farms against the backdrop of the region’s distinct environmental challenges. By examining the capital and operational costs, including the critical factor of transportation expenses, the study offers an in-depth economic analysis of both systems. Dynamic analytical models for energy, water, and CO<sub>2</sub> utilization have been developed for greenhouses and vertical farms, to accurately estimate the respective resource usage in each cultivation system. The distribution cost, relevant for the greenhouse scenario, was evaluated using a vehicle routing problem. The findings reveal that greenhouses, with levelized cost of production of $3.19 per kg for tomatoes, offer a more cost-effective solution in Qatar’s specific context than vertical farms, which show a higher cost of $3.77 per kg Although greenhouses currently offer a more cost-effective solution, future studies should incorporate other context-specific factors, including ecological impacts such as water usage, which is particularly critical for regions like Qatar.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":100250,"journal":{"name":"Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy","volume":"12 ","pages":"Article 100151"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cleaner and Circular Bioeconomy","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772801325000181","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Agriculture in arid regions faces challenges due to environmental constraints that hinder traditional farming methods. Controlled environment agriculture is emerging as a transformative solution, offering sustainable alternatives to these traditional practices. While the economic viability of vertical farms has been demonstrated in various contexts, such conclusions cannot be universally applied without considering specific regional characteristics. This highlights the necessity for detailed case studies. This research evaluates controlled environment agriculture within Qatar, comparing centralized greenhouses to decentralized vertical farms against the backdrop of the region’s distinct environmental challenges. By examining the capital and operational costs, including the critical factor of transportation expenses, the study offers an in-depth economic analysis of both systems. Dynamic analytical models for energy, water, and CO2 utilization have been developed for greenhouses and vertical farms, to accurately estimate the respective resource usage in each cultivation system. The distribution cost, relevant for the greenhouse scenario, was evaluated using a vehicle routing problem. The findings reveal that greenhouses, with levelized cost of production of $3.19 per kg for tomatoes, offer a more cost-effective solution in Qatar’s specific context than vertical farms, which show a higher cost of $3.77 per kg Although greenhouses currently offer a more cost-effective solution, future studies should incorporate other context-specific factors, including ecological impacts such as water usage, which is particularly critical for regions like Qatar.
干旱地区温室和垂直农场生产系统的经济评估:以卡塔尔为例
由于环境限制阻碍了传统的耕作方法,干旱地区的农业面临挑战。可控环境农业正在成为一种变革性的解决方案,为这些传统做法提供了可持续的替代方案。虽然垂直农场的经济可行性已在各种情况下得到证明,但如果不考虑具体的区域特征,这种结论不能普遍适用。这突出了详细案例研究的必要性。本研究评估了卡塔尔的受控环境农业,在该地区独特的环境挑战背景下,比较了集中式温室和分散式垂直农场。通过考察资本和运营成本,包括运输费用这一关键因素,本研究对这两个系统进行了深入的经济分析。为温室和垂直农场开发了能源、水和二氧化碳利用的动态分析模型,以准确估计每个种植系统中各自的资源使用情况。使用车辆路线问题来评估与温室情景相关的配送成本。研究结果显示,在卡塔尔的特定环境下,温室西红柿的平均生产成本为每公斤3.19美元,比垂直农场更具成本效益,垂直农场的成本为每公斤3.77美元。尽管温室目前提供了更具成本效益的解决方案,但未来的研究应纳入其他特定环境的因素,包括生态影响,如用水量,这对卡塔尔等地区尤其重要。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
CiteScore
3.30
自引率
0.00%
发文量
0
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:604180095
Book学术官方微信