Recipients of the newly introduced Hydroponics Programme under the Ministry of Agriculture’s Supported and Protected Agriculture Programme have applauded the stance taken by the Ministry in introducing revolutionary technologies.

For Ms. Vani Cakobau of Bainisoqosoqo, Nalawa in Ra, the introduction of the hydroponics system on her farm would surely boost her production levels seeing as the traditional factors that affected her farm productivity would now be a thing of the past.

“For me and my husband, when we received the call from the Rakiraki Agriculture office informing us of our successful application for hydroponics, we were just so happy, ecstatic you could say because we were just discussing the opportunities that were in hydroponics farming,” she said.

“We were just planning to venture into hydroponics, and we were hoping and praying to be included in this programme and we’re just so thankful to the Ministry of Agriculture for having us be part of it and it will set the platform for us to develop even further from where we are now in our farming,” said Ms. Cakobau.

“We looked up and researched about the benefits of hydroponics and I am just so eager to set up the system at home and to go from there on our own, this is just the blessing we’ve been waiting on,” she added.

Whereas for 31-year-old Shonal Vishal from Navala, in Ba, being one of the successful applicants could echo well for aspiring young farmers who wanted to practice hydroponics farming as well.

“I’m happy to be part of the programme because as a youth, taking this step into the agriculture sector is worthwhile and I appreciate the Ministry of Agriculture’s contribution and assistance through the hydroponics programme because I plan to learn more about hydroponics and develop from this initial assistance and hope to become a model youth hydroponics farmer so my success can motivate more young farmers,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ms. Sarojni Devi of Navou, Ba expressed her gratitude to the Ministry as she had faced a lot of difficulties growing her vegetables during the wet season, sharing that the hydroponics system would alleviate this problem for her.

“In the rainy season, I can’t plant my crops, either for myself or for sale in the market, and I love planting but now that I’ve received this hydroponics system, I can plant in the 4-months of the rainy season whereas before I couldn’t plant anything,” said Ms. Devi.

“So now, I am happy to have this hydroponics system because I can plant lettuce and cabbage using hydroponics, and tomatoes too, now I plant vegetables in my garden but during the rainy season, I can’t plant anything so I want to thank the Ministry because I didn’t expect to receive the hydroponics kit but now I am very happy to be chosen,” she shared.

The basic concept of hydroponics is that water is substituted for soil. Solutions are then added to the water to provide easily accessed nutrients for a healthy yield. The nutrients added to the water may include phosphorus, nitrogen, calcium, potassium, and many more, depending on the plants being grown.

The benefits of hydroponics are that it maximizes space as it requires far less space than plants grown in soil, it conserves water as it uses less water than growing the same plants in soil, it facilitates a micro-climate, produces higher yields, requires less labour, needs no soil, produces higher quality food, reduced crop seasonality.

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