By 2050, the global population is expected to rise to 10 billion and half of this population will be from the African continent according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The demand for food will therefore increase, forcing farmers to produce more to feed this growing population. The effects of climate continue to hit hard affecting food production, this is evident through declining sea water levels, reduced crop yields, extreme weather patterns and decline on livestock productivity.
Land is one of the major factors of production. Unfortunately, human practices such as deforestation, overgrazing and over-cultivation have led to land degradation and loss of biodiversity. In urban areas, inadequate land forces many to shy away from agricultural production; however, one of the GoGettaz Finalists is offering urban dwellers a sigh of relief through alternative methods of farming.
A 2019 inflation of food prices in Lesotho, a landlocked country inspired Mochesane Mpali, co-founder of Lema Agrivest, to seek solutions on how he could help urban dwellers mitigate soaring food prices; this is how he decided to adopt the idea of hydroponic farming practices. Lema Agrivest is a hydroponic startup that promotes cultivation of plants without soil by controlling the amount of nutrients and water the plants and roots receive for maximum yields and produce.
