The world's first ever floating farm has been built in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

The aim of the initiative, said designer Peter Van Wingerden, was to shorten the distance between the production and consumption of food. With the majority of the world's population now living in urban areas, the demand for fresh food in cities is on the rise.

"We also want to reduce transportation because now food is transported all over the world, with planes and ships and trucks, and that creates a lot of pollution. And it also creates food losses," said Van Wingerden.

This, combined with the farm's vast array of solar panels, makes the floating project an eco-friendly alternative to current farming methods. The farm has also been designed to desalinate seawater.

The buoyant structure is starting small, currently hosting just 32 dairy cows.

Author: Euronews.com