INFEWS/T3: Strategic FEW and Workforce Investments to Enhance Viability of Controlled Environment Agriculture in Metropolitan Areas

温室或植物工厂等受控环境农业（CEA）可能为传统的田间生产和长途运输系统提供另一种选择，为大都市地区提供当地种植的蔬菜。地铁CEA的潜在好处包括减少食品运输，与实地生产相比减少用水量，经济增长，创造新的就业机会和劳动力发展。然而，关于替代的CEA生产技术的盈利能力，这些生产系统所需劳动力的特点，不同外部条件下的能源和水需求，以及与常规油田生产相比的CEA生产规模，缺乏全面的信息。一个系统建模的方法被用来比较经济和环境影响的CEA与田间蔬菜供应链。本研究项目还评估了在CEA蔬菜生产中优化经济效益以及水、能源和其他资源利用效率的新系统。它促进了工业研究网络和劳动力发展计划，以促进大都市地区可行的CEA系统的接受、采用和持续改进。总的来说，该项目1)为以CEA和蔬菜生产为例的更可持续的FEW系统奠定了基础；2)为政策制定者、城市规划者、企业家和当前CEA运营提供知识和见解，使其能够做出明智的决策；3)开发教育资源，为不断发展的CEA行业培养合适的劳动力。控制环境农业（CEA），包括温室、植物工厂或垂直农场，可能是传统的以田地为基础的蔬菜生产的可行替代方案，以供应大都市地区。然而，缺乏对CEA经济和生态可行性以及可扩展性的基本知识，以实质性地取代现有的粮食系统。尽管大都市CEA在土地和运输方面是高效的，但主要障碍包括：大量的能源投入，提高封闭系统中工厂生产力的基础知识，以及缺乏熟练的劳动力。该项目的跨学科团队由植物科学家、化学家、工程师、经济学家、系统建模师和计算机科学家组成，他们正在开发一个多维工具包来评估和指导大都市CEA的系统和适当的发展。一种系统建模方法被用于了解温室、植物工厂和垂直农场的能源、水和碳足迹，使用现状的CEA技术和基于植物研究结果的未来情景。正在向政策规划者和企业家提供资料，以评估采用经济环境指标的环境影响；没有完整的前期资料。此外，正在系统地评估以地铁为基础的东航业务财务可行性所必需的因素，并将其合并为潜在东航业务的决策支持系统。正在评估是否有可能扩大以都市为基础的农产品供应系统，以便向特定的都市市场提供相当大比例的选定蔬菜，包括对市场竞争和聚集经济的分析。由于都市地区的居民不一定为农业职业做好准备，因此该项目确定了劳动力需求，并创造了几个结构化的劳动力发展机会（课程、短期课程和实习）。预计该项目的研究成果将高度可转移到美国和其他地区的许多地区。该项目还为几个团体培养科学和领导技能。通过规划和组织相关的具体项目，从事该项目的研究生在涉及实验室的跨学科协作环境中与本科生一起工作，获得宝贵的领导经验。该项目研究为至少6名本科生提供了研究经验，并有多名本科生正在与CEA行业成员一起参加暑期实习经验。员工发展培训，包括在线课程和面对面的短期课程，将有助于东航潜在员工的专业发展。

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA), such as greenhouses or plant factories, may provide an alternative to conventional systems of field-based production and long-distance transportation to supply metropolitan areas with locally-grown vegetables. Potential benefits of metro CEA include decreased transportation of the food, reduced water use compared with field-based production, economic growth, and new jobs and workforce development. However, comprehensive information is lacking on the profitability of alternative CEA production technologies, the characteristics of the work force required for those production systems, the energy and water requirements under different external conditions, and the scale of CEA production compared with conventional field production. A systems modeling approach is being used to compare the economics and environmental effects of CEA versus field vegetable supply chains. This research project also evaluates novel systems to optimize economic benefits as well as water, energy, and other resource use efficiencies in CEA vegetable production. It fosters industry-research networks and workforce development programs to facilitate the acceptance, adoption, and continued improvement of viable CEA systems in metropolitan areas. Collectively, the project 1) Lays the groundwork for more sustainable FEW systems exemplified by CEA and vegetable production; 2) Provides knowledge and insights to enable informed decision making by policy makers, city planners, entrepreneurs, and current CEA operations; and 3) Develops education resources to train an appropriate workforce for a growing CEA industry. Controlled environment agriculture (CEA), which encompasses greenhouses, plant factories, or vertical farms, may be a viable alternative to conventional field-based production of vegetables to supply metropolitan areas. However, fundamental knowledge is lacking on CEA economic and ecological viability and scalability to substantially replace existing food systems. Whereas metropolitan CEA is land and transportation efficient, major barriers include: substantial energy inputs, fundamental knowledge to improve plant productivity in closed systems, and lack of a skilled workforce. The project's transdisciplinary team of plant scientists, chemists, engineers, economists, systems modelers, and computer scientists are developing a multi-dimensional toolkit to assess and guide the systematic and appropriate development of metropolitan CEA. A systems modeling approach is being used to understand the energy, water, and carbon footprints for greenhouses, plant factories, and vertical farms using both status quo CEA technologies and future scenarios based on plant research results. Information is being made available to policy planners and entrepreneurs to assess the environmental impacts of CEA adoption; no comprehensive previous information exists. Further, the factors necessary for financial feasibility of metro-based CEA operations are being systematically assessed and consolidated into a decision-support system for potential CEA operations. The potential to scale up metro-based CEA systems to provide a substantial proportion of selected vegetables to a specific metropolitan market is being assessed, including an analysis of market competition and agglomeration economies. Because metro-area residents are not necessarily prepared for careers in agriculture, the project identifies workforce needs and creates several structured workforce development opportunities (curricula, short courses, and internships). It is anticipated that the research results from this project will be highly transferrable to many regions in the USA and elsewhere. The project also develops scientific and leadership skills for several groups. Through planning and organization related to their specific projects, the graduate students working on this project gain valuable leadership experience working with undergraduate students in an interdisciplinary collaborative environment between the involved labs. The project research provides research experience to at least six undergraduate students, and several undergraduate students are participating in summer internship experiences with CEA industry members. Workforce development training, including online curricula and in-person short courses, will contribute to the professional development of potential metro CEA employees.