Urban agriculture has long been identified as a valid solution to guarantee food security and the creation of small profitable businesses in developing and non-developing countries. As is known, the number of inhabitants in cities has recently exceeded the number of inhabitants in rural areas, resulting in an extension of the concrete surface and a greater distance from food supply areas.
The Practice Abstract titled “How to produce mushrooms inside a shipping container in an urban environment” was prepared by authors Andrea D’Aprile, Elisa Appolloni, and Francesco Orsini from our partner UNIBO under the FrontAg Nexus project, supported by the European Union’s PRIMA programme. The document discusses innovative urban agriculture methods focusing on the cultivation of Pleurotus eryngii mushrooms in shipping containers. This method leverages controlled indoor environments to optimise mushroom growth by regulating temperature, humidity, and lighting. Such systems address urban food security challenges by maximising yield in small spaces without the need for arable land, making it feasible to achieve multiple harvest cycles annually in any climate. The abstract also outlines economic considerations, suggesting potential profitability in an urban Italian context, highlighting initial setup costs, operating expenses, and revenue projections from mushroom sales.
