Maximizing the potentials of Urban Farming in Nigeria and Reducing Farmers/herdsmen clashes through HYDROPONICS

Plants grow through a process called photosynthesis, in which they use sunlight and a chemical inside their leaves called chlorophyll to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. There's no mention of soil anywhere and that means plants can grow without it. Hydroponics is the method of growing plants without soil, using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. 

A couple of years back, botanists discovered that Soil works as a reservoir for things like nutrient material and also as a medium by which the plant may strengthen itself, so, when the water supplied to plants already has the needed organic material, and plants are secured or even suspended by other method, then soil becomes unnecessary.

Hydroponics systems fall into two basic categories: a solution (liquid) culture and an aggregate culture. In a solution system, the plant roots grow directly into a nutrient-filled solution. In an aggregate system, such as gravel, sand, or small clay pellets, the roots grow into the medium. In each method, the system supplies the three essential ingredients plant roots need to grow: water/moisture, nutrients and oxygen. There are countless methods and variations of hydroponic gardening.

What Crops can be grown hydroponically

Hydroponic technique can be applied to a large variety of plants with different degrees of success but vegetables (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers etc) and fruits (watermelons, strawberries etc) grow very well under hydroponics. Given the right setup and nutrient balance, you can grow any plant hydroponically.

Why does Hydroponics work so well?

If you give a plant exactly what it needs, when it needs it, in the amount that it needs, the plant will be as healthy as is genetically possible. With hydroponics this is an easy task; in soil it is far more difficult.

With hydroponics the plants are grown in an inert growing medium and a perfectly balanced, pH adjusted nutrient solution is delivered to the roots in a highly soluble form. This allows the plant to uptake its food with very little effort as opposed to soil where the roots must search out the nutrients and extract them. This is true even when using rich, organic soil and top of the line nutrients. The energy expended by the roots in this process is energy better spent on vegetative growth and fruit and flower production.

If you grow two genetically identical plants using soil for one and hydroponics for the other, you will almost immediately see the difference this factor makes. Faster, better growth and much greater yields are just some of the many reasons that hydroponics is being adapted around the world for commercial food production as well as a growing number of home gardeners.

Advantages of Hydroponic Gardening:

·        (1)  plants can be grown anywhere as long as their growth requirements are met.

·        (2)   It uses less water compared to traditional (soil based) gardening.

·        (3) This technique does not require pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals.

·        (4) No damage to crops as a result of soil-borne diseases or pests.

·      (5) Yield in Hydroponics is doubled leading to more production from same amount of space.

·     (6)  It needs 20% of less space in comparison to soil based gardens, as plants with small roots can be grown closer to each other.

·   (7) Run-off in traditional gardening can lead to environment degradation due to high proportion of calcium, phosphorous and potassium content dissolved in it. But in hydroponic systems; water can be reused multiple times leading to water conservation with less expense incurred on it.

·        (8) Less labour and upkeep is also minimal.

 ·   (9) Plants are healthy and have better nutritional value. It has been proved that vitamin content is 50% more in hydroponically grown plants as compared to conventional ones.

·        (10) It is easy to harvest in this type of gardening.

·     (11) There are no worries about the changing seasons, as crops can be grown all year round.

Disadvantages of Hydroponic Gardening:

·        (1) Initial set up cost of hydroponic system is high. It requires constant supervision.

·     (2) These gardens can also become susceptible to power outage; in this case plants will dry out. If this ever happens, you have to manually water your garden.

·        (3) Water-based microorganism can be easily introduced.

·        (4) Technical knowledge is required for growing plants through hydroponics.

Hydroponic Fodder System

Nigeria for decades has continued to witness bloody battles between farmers and nomadic herdsmen which have claimed several lives and properties and this alone is threatening the food security of Nigeria. Herdsmen, who are predominantly of the Fulani ethnicity continuous search for pasture to feed their cattle and they invade farming communities and this leads to conflicts.

Growing animal feedstock hydroponically is a relatively new trend in Africa. There are several advantages to growing fodder hydroponically. The main advantage is that animals get feedstock that has no pesticides or herbicides, is of high quality, and uses very little water. The most common sprouting crop is barley, although alfalfa, clover, corn, cow peas, oats, sorghum, and wheat are possible grains to grow fodder. Sprouting increases fiber and breaks the grain down into more consumable parts.

Typically, the seed is spread in a wide channel and kept moist. In a few days it will sprout and in a week or so it will become a six- to eight-inch high mat. The mat of fodder is then cut into manageable lengths and rolled up.  The mat of roots, and green foliage is fed in its entirety to the animals.  

The advantages of growing fodder this way is that there are no big land requirements and you can always feed fresh grass with minimal water usage. 

Harvesting the fodder: In just 8 days, the fodder is ready to harvest.  If you leave it longer than 8 days, the foliage will begin to yellow because the light requirements increase.  At this stage the entire mat of seeds and foliage can be removed from the trays and fed directly to your animals.  

  

Trainings:

For training on Hydroponics, contact Bicfarms concepts at 2, Independence street, Anifowose, Ikeja, Lagos (+234 803 407 9631) or at 24, E Road, Citec Estate, Mbora, Jabi, Airport road, FCT Abuja. (+234 902 152 7917

Piece was compiled by Kehinde S.Jimoh