AUSTRALIAN cities must join a global network in which urban farmers grow produce on rooftops, a leading science commentator says.

Professor Julian Cribb, author of The Coming Famine, said the global food crisis was a forewarning of what could be expected as civilisation ran low on water, arable land and nutrients, and experienced soaring energy costs.

Professor Cribb said the urban farmers of the future – who would primarily grow vegetables – would play a much larger role in the global diet.

“We need new skills in designing this diet and developing the intensive vegetable culture needed to support it,” he said.

“This intensive urban vegie culture is an entirely new industry and will need a new professional – the urban farmer who can grow food on the roofs and sides of buildings, in intensive biocultures and by other novel methods to feed the megacities of 30 million-plus inhabitants.

Exploring some of these novel methods of food production in an urban environment is definitely an area for the Aurora Australis members to explore.