How you can grow your crops better without soil -Expert

Mr Adebowale Onafowora introduced soilless farming in Nigerian in 2013 and has since trained over 10,000 people to farm without soil. When the quantity surveyor started BIC farms in 2006, he focused on recirculated aquaculture system (RAS). After training in hydroponics in South Africa, he shifted his attention to farming without soil in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Onafowora, who among other things, is into aquaculture, livestock, value chain development, pig farming and arguably owns the largest moringa plantation and factory in West Africa, speaks to Daily Trust on soilless agric, among other issues in the sector.

How did you become a soilless farmer? I stumbled on a documentary on CNN in 2013 which focused on soilless farming usually referred to as hydroponics. Thereafter, I searched online for further information and had to go to South Africa for some months’ training.

What is hydroponics all about?

Hydroponics is about growing crops without soil. In the place of soil, other medium are used. Soil does not actually contribute anything to the plants, rather, it acts as an anchor against wind and flood for the plant. It also houses the nutrients that the plants need to grow. That is all that plants take from the soil.

There are four different alternatives to soilless farming. There is the soilless culture, Vegetables grow in a soiless enviroment

which requires other medium other than soil for planting. Some of the things used in this instance are, Coconut back, which is processed and used as a medium. It has a high water retention capacity and the cation is good. Rice husk, rock wool and many others are used in the soilless culture.

There is also the pure hydroponics wherein water is the base. All necessary nutrients are deposited in the water. Plants need more than 15 nutrients to grow, we mix these nutrients in the right proportion and give it to the plant.

Asides that, there is aeroponics; here, the root of the plant is just floating in the air. The water and nutrients are mixed to touch the roots.

The last category is aquaponics, a combination of fish and vegetables farming. It has to do with re-circulated aquaculture system (RAS). When the fishes defecate, the

defecation leads to ammonia build up and this mixes up with the water. We give such water to the plant and from there, our plant grows.

Another common hydroponics is water hyacinth growing on the Lagoon, the plant just grows on water, but nobody has been paying attention.

With hydroponics, we grow fodder for cows, goats, sheep and even chicken. On soil, growing fodder takes 90 days and with hydroponics, we grow it in 9 days.

With hydroponics, what we need 15 plots for, that is, one hectare of land, we can grow it on a half plot of land.

Technology makes difficult things easier. With technology, a country like Poland exports agricultural produce worth over 80 billion Euros, three times Nigeria’s budget and Poland is not as big as Lagos. They use hydroponics to farm.

Eighty percent of the major vegetables we eat are planted in the North. Apart from the soil not being suitable, other reasons vegetables are not grown in the South are because the soil and humidity are not suitable.

At the Niger Delta where their soil is degraded, polluted and not suitable for farming purposes, they can grow with hydroponics.

How can hydroponics make a farmer become a millionaire?

How many farmers have one hectare? Imagine the size of Mile 12 market in Lagos. Most of the tomatoes, pepper, onions and other items there are from the North. Imagine farmers in Lagos and its suburb producing the same quantity of perishable veggies brought from the North, they will save transportation and logistics, their farm produce will still retain its freshness and they will command premium.

We have localised hydroponics. What we need foreign materials to do are now done with local materials.

A greenhouse for hydroponics that will ordinarily cost N3.5m to build now cost N1.2m and with such a structure, a farmer can grow crops that will fetch him or her N30,000 in a week and in worst case scenario, about N100,000 in a month. So, how won’t a farmer become a millionaire with such a system?

What is the relationship between a greenhouse and hydroponics?

A greenhouse is a controlled environment that is created for a crop to grow. Crops need an environment to blossom.

Why does tomatoes grow well in the North and not in the South? Humidity, soil, and many other things are responsible. For tomatoes to grow well in the South, they need a controlled environment.

A greenhouse gives an ultra violet (UV) covering that filters and protects the crop from the intensity of the sun, and providing the crops with the actual intensity needed. A crop like tomato, and cucumber, does not like water to touch its leaves, many don’t know. Once it’s continuously exposed, it gives room for serious fungi. In