Dear Editor,
Hydroponics is the way to go. Students of agriculture can easily attest to the following advantages: Higher yield; Controlled level of nutrition; Plants are healthier, and they mature faster; Weeds can be easily eliminated; Susceptibility to pests and diseases is negligible; and Automation is possible. This is because hydroponics, as a system of agriculture, utilizes nutrient-laden water rather than soil for plant nourishment; that is, the operation does not require natural precipitation or fertile land in order to be effective. This translates to presenting people who are living in arid regions with a means to grow food for themselves and for profit.
Editor, before I get to what is a truly wonderful thing ongoing in Guyana, I apprise our people that, globally, it was estimated that the hydroponic farming industry was worth $21.4 billion in 2015, with its value projected to grow at 7 per cent per year. Slowly but steadily, farming appears to be changing. But equally, there are big global changes on the horizon, and these could vastly accelerate the use of controlled-environment agriculture. By 2050, an extra 3bln people could be living on earth, with over 80 per cent of the global population living in urban centres. We’re already using the vast majority of land suitable for raising crops, so new growing areas, particularly in arid regions, need to be found. The answer is obviously in hydroponics.
In Guyana, as we all know, “Local hydroponics farms could (indeed) support (the) region’s food security efforts.” In fact, Guyana has made significant strides in this area, to boost the production of various crops as it tries to do its part in the big effort. The big CARICOM (Caribbean Community) goal is that of reducing the food-import bill of the region by 25 per cent by 2025, and typifying this drive is the hydroponics project that was recently launched by the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.
Just digest this: the current capacity at the farm’s nursery stands at 100,000 plants, and in its incipient stage, there are some 25,000 plants, including kale, lettuce and pak choi. The word given to President Ali, who is really a vanguard in this regional venture, is that “…the farm would meet the full capacity of 100,000 plants…within two weeks…” As he pointed out, and like I did intimate at the onset, President Dr. Ali highlighted that “…a capacity of that scale, if done in the traditional way, would have taken up approximately 15 acres of land; however, with this way, it’s being done on less land, and there will be consistency in the produce.”
Guyana is currently investing and experimenting with about 15 herbs, including mustard, basil, chai, thyme, and local and foreign varieties of pak choi. Noting that “…that planting crops that are usually imported will replace the need for that import and further provide export for other countries…the President explained that “the intention of this facility is to build additional facilities like this one to meet the entire CARICOM’s needs for these crops and export from here.”
I see this as a great start, and moreso that “…the next phase includes introducing modern aquaculture tanks and the ‘whole works’ of (the) cutting-edge system, comprising a cold room, packaging space, harvesting tools, irrigation controllers, a water recycling system, and emergency water storage.”
Editor, we need to face reality. Land mass for agriculture is already an issue, therefore hydroponic systems or soil-less agriculture is a necessity, as it reduces the farmer’s consumption of resources. This kind of modernized movement by our country means that Guyana can lead the way by enabling this farming technique to be adopted by a large number of stakeholders, ranging from home gardeners to professional growers, and supermarkets to restaurants.
Of importance is the fact that, according to the UN reports on global population, plants grown in hydroponic systems have achieved 20%–25% higher yield than the traditional agriculture system, with its productivity being 2–5 times higher.
So, I say to the People’s Progressive Party/Civic, and particularly to those on the ground: embrace the vision of hydroponics.
Yours truly,
HB Singh
