International graduate student conducts research on vertical farming

Faraz Moghimi, Texas State graduate student pursuing his Master’s in Engineering.

Faraz Moghimi, a Texas State graduate student pursuing his Master’s in Engineering, conducted research on the economic prospect of vertical farming as a possibly more sustainable way of agriculture. 

“We live in an era that sustainability and environmental hazards are proving to be an immense issue. Agriculture is one of the important parts of this issue. I personally believe that exploring new sustainable technologies must be complimented with a deep dive into the economics side of things to work,” said Moghimi. 

The research looks at three different aspects of pursuing vertical farming as a business venture. It looks at the financial prospect of vertical farming compared to traditional farming, while looking at the current economic policy regarding crop farming and how that could fit in with vertical farming. Finally, finding optimal ways to implement a vertical farming business venture and what the future looks like for this practice. 

The goal of the research is to help provide a road map for the industry. Moghimi hopes to shed some light of the issues while showing the potentials of vertical farming and ultimately provide some answers to help with find more sustainable ways of crop farming.

Moghimi is an international student originally from Iran. He came to Texas State because of the potential for research experience with his advisor, Dr. Bahram Asiabanpour. 

“He's quite knowledgeable and resourceful and he has always provided me with support in different aspects. However, I have had the freedom to venture out into different areas in my research and try out my ideas in different ways. In my opinion, that is the perfect balance to have as an advisor, always helpful and supportive but also allowing the freedom to explore,” said Moghimi. 

As part of the research, Moghimi was working on farming risk, and was led to study crop insurance and economic policies in that regard. He plans to examine whether increased crop insurance subsidies encourage riskier farming practices. He also plans to pursue his PhD in finance starting this fall at the University of Massachusetts – Boston.