Struggle in Farming

[Anchor Lead]

Because of air pollution, a growing number of flower farms choose to grow flowers in greenhouses, equipped with artificial lighting to make up for the sunlight blocked by thick smog. Take a look

[Pkg]

This greenhouse where young roses are growing measures one hectare. On the ceiling, some 1200 infrared lights are installed. The lights used to be only turned on at night, but recently they are used during daytime as well because of severe smog. Less sunlight can permeate the greenhouse due to dust accumulating on the surface.

[Soundbite] Park Jung-seon(Rose farm owner) : "When there is smog or yellow dust, it's almost the same as on cloudy days. It's detrimental to my crops."

Artificial lighting is used widely these days to make up for the lack of sunlight in greenhouses. A study shows artificial lighting can help farms reduce damage on cloudy or smoggy days. In fact, the quality and harvest of cucumbers grown in greenhouses where artificial lighting is installed, turned out to be twice that of facilities that don't have artificial lighting. Artificial lighting was also found to be more cost-effective when used for a long time despite installation and electricity costs.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-han(National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science) : "The initial investment for a farm measuring 990 square meters is around 5 million to 8 million won. But once it is installed, farmers' profits increase about 30 percent thanks to higher production."

To flower farms, artificial lighting has emerged as a new way to fight air pollution.