HYDROPONICS TECHNOLOGY (SOILLESS FARMING)

1. Access to cheap, safe and healthy food by urban citizens in Uganda

2. Access to nutritious livestock feeds for communities living in arid and semi arid areas of Uganda

HYDROPONICS TECHNOLOGY is the science of growing crops without using soil. 

1. Urban citizens have challenges of access to food as prices of foodstuffs are increasing and have limited or no land to grow food. Soilless farming becomes an alternative. They can grow food in small spaces at their premises and homes. Vegetables and fruits are easily grown hydroponically and this reduces cost of food by 50%. The food is fresh, safe, clean and healthy. Hydroponics is not affected by climate change therefore production of food can be done the whole year round.

2. Communities living in arid and semi arid areas of Uganda can grow pasture and fodder for livestock all year round using hydroponics technology. Animals will always be nourished as they will get very nutritious feed all the time. Farmers will improve economically with the increased production of milk and, eggs and meat.

Nutritional Benefits of Hydroponics Fodder

Feeding fodder to dairy cattle offers very dramatic advantages including:

• Lower feed costs per cow. A kilo of Barley or Wheat seeds when grown hydroponically produces 7 kilos of consumable fodder
• Increased revenue due to increment of milk production
• Better digestibility about 95% compare to 35% on conventional feeds
• Higher milk volumes about 15% increment
• Higher butter content in milk about 23% increment
• Dramatically increased fertility rates
• Substantially lower involuntary cull rate
• Better coat shine and condition
• Greatly improved herd health
• Reduced need for mineral supplements

Advantages of Hydroponics Fodder

There are many advantages to go for hydroponics fodder productions. To grow hydroponics fodder;

• No soil is required
• Make better use of space and location.
• The plant root systems of hydroponics fodder are quite small which means more number of plants per unit of space.
• Vertical farming is done with multiple racks system and crop rotation is not necessary
• Hydroponic system requires very less water as water is applied only in the roots and is often recycled.
• Only 2-3 liters of water to grow 1 kg of quality fodder when compare to 55-75 liters of water used in conventional traditional way of fodder cultivation for same 1kg of green fodder cultivation. 
• This technology is highly useful in chronic water shortage areas as well as to the areas where irrigation facilities are not available for year-round fodder production.
• Less labour required
• Environmentally friendly than traditional system of fodder cultivation.
• Fertilizers are rarely or minimally used so degradation of the environment can be checked.
• It also produces less greenhouse gases
• Minimized the post-harvest losses.
• Hydroponic technology leads to fewer pests and diseases with no weed problem. 
• Beside increasing milk production, it also helps in better conception rate.
• Herd health and longevity is enhanced, in turn reduces the veterinary cost. 
• No transportation of feed as it is grown where the cows are located
• It can also be count as a stress-relieving hobby.

Our solutions will serve two groups of communities in Uganda;

1. Urban citizens in Uganda: 

They are affected by lack of food due to increased prices and availability of food too. This has brought about poverty and malnutrition. Making them able to grow food in small spaces within their homes and residences will solve this challenge.

2. Communities living in arid and semi arid areas of Uganda:

Most  of communities living in arid and semi arid areas of Uganda are livestock farmers. Areas like Karamoja, Mbarara, Nakasongola and other are affected by climate change as drought affects livestock immensely. Animals die during and drive the farmers into abject poverty. Making them grow animal pasture and fodder in their homes and residences will provide continues access to very nutritious feed and hence increased milk, eggs and meat production improving their economic well being and reducing poverty

1. We intent to establish hydroponics demonstration farms in all urban areas in uganda (cities and towns) where urban citizens can be demonstrated and trained on how to grow crops without using soil. They will  learn how to use small available spaces in their homes like along the perimeter wall, balcony, behind their houses and on the roof of their houses for food production.

2. We also intent to establish demonstration farms close to the farmers in arid and semi arid areas where the farmers can get trained and supplied with necessary tools for fodder and pasture production.

We are currently working close with few farmers and have seen that the technology is helping them in a big way

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We are faced with a technical barrier of not having any farm to use as demonstration farm for poor farmers. The farmers who have adapted this technology have private homes which are not accessible to common man and ordinary farmers.

If we establish our own demonstration farms all farmers and ordinary citizens will have the access to information and technology acquisition.

For farmers who cannot afford  the technology, we are partnering with financial institutions to finance farms to any farmer who wishes to have a hydroponics farm. Financial arrangements are on a level of an ordinary farmer with long term repayment period

We are requesting USD 30,000 to establish 10 demonstration farms in which each demonstration farm will cost USD 3,000.

What is the definition of hydroponic technology?

Hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil, and can include an aggregate substrate, or growing media, such as vermiculite, coconut coir, or perlite.

When Compared To Traditional Soil-Grown Crop Production, The Benefits Of Hydroponics Includes: Up to 90% more efficient use of water. Production increases 3 to 10 times in the same amount of space. Many crops can be produced twice as fast in a well-managed hydroponic system.

No soil? No problem: Hydroponic farming could help combat climate change and food insecurity.

As the world population nears 10 billion by 2050, overall food demand is expected to increase by over 50%, according to the World Resources Institute. Climate change will make feeding that population more difficult in some regions.  

Increased heat stress, rainfall intensity, flooding and drought could reduce crop yields and leave once arable land unusable, leading to food insecurity, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.  

To grow more food with less land, some farmers and scientists have pointed to the potential of hydroponics, a method of vertical farming.  

Hydroponic farming involves suspending plants in a water solution with each essential nutrient necessary for a plant to grow, removing the need for soil. This way, plants can be stacked on top of one another in a climate-controlled greenhouse almost anywhere, instead of taking up acres of fertile land.  

In one year;

• In 12 months establish 10 demonstration farms. Reach out to 10 customers from each demo site totaling to 100
• Increase in hydroponics nutrients production from current 10 sets to 100 sets per month

In five years;

Reach out to estimated 4000 farmers all over Uganda

This will be achieved through partnering with other concerned partners like institutions, famer groups, communities and financial institutions.

1. No Poverty

When communities can have access to safe, clean, healthy food in an easy environment and at a low cost then poverty will be reduced.

When livestock farmers have access to more nutritious feeds, production of mile, eggs and meat increasing hence increased income therefore reducing poverty

2. Zero Hunger

Growing food in small spaces available in urban dwellings will reduce hunger to the urban citizens

Livestock will have access to feeds all year round hence reduce hunger

3. Good Health and Well-being

Urban citizens will have clean, safe and healthy food hence increase their health and well being

Livestock will have access to more nutritious feeds hence improve their health and well being

10. Reduced Inequalities

All communities in Uganda will have equal access to food and pasture for livestock hence reducing inequalities

11. Sustainable Cities and Communities

Urban citizens and communities living in arid and semi arid areas will have their lives sustained through easy access to food and livestock feeds

13. Climate Action

Hydroponics is not affected by climate change hence will have no negative impact on the climate therefore contributing positively

17. Partnerships for the Goals

 Farmers who cannot afford to have an hydroponics farm will be linked to financial institutions to assist financially on easy and simple terms to any ordinary citizen and farmer

One way hydroponics technology could have some reversable effects on global warming is, if you take a building and instead of turning it into a hotel, you take one acre of land, 20 stories tall, and now you can grow 20 acres of food on that without actually deforesting 20 acres. It would take 20 acres of earth to make the same food crop, so why don’t we just reforest that? And grow food in one single acre with the same production capacity. Over time this could have a long-term effect on carbon emissions.

Another advantage of hydroponics is the ability to grow more food in a localized area without the need to transport as many materials. Transportation of food materials results in carbon emissions from trucks burning fossil fuels.  In this way  you’re really reducing the need for greenhouse gas emissions.

The potential to produce animal feed by growing plants on trays platform and using a sprinkling system to deliver nutrients could help livestock farmers increase production and their economic development.

The need for innovative agriculture 

The United Nations (UN) has projected the global population to reach nearly 10 billion people by 2050, with “roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population each year until then.” In 2019 alone, an estimated 124 million people faced acute food shortages from climate-related events such as flooding, irregular rains, droughts, and high temperatures. Given that hydroponics can grow food in a controlled environment, with less water and in higher yields, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has been implementing hydroponic farming in areas of the world that suffer from food shortages. There are currently ongoing projects to establish large hydroponic farms in  Latin American and African countries. 

Hydroponics for a sustainable future

Given the need for more sustainable agriculture, there has been a rise in eco-friendly start-up companies around the world that are using hydroponic technology to produce crops on a large scale with a technique known as “Vertical Farming” (Figure 3). 

Vertical farms are buildings filled with countless levels of hydroponic systems (or nutrient film style planters), growing different crops in an indoor, controlled temperature environment (Figure 3). The largest vertical farm is being built in Dubai, covering 130,000 square feet of land and aiming to produce 6,000 pounds of food per day, “using 1/2500th the amount of water as an equivalent soil operation”. For a city that imports 85% of their food, this will greatly revolutionize the way the city eats. 

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants always receive consideration for employment and are not discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.

Our team is gender balanced with 50% inclusiveness

Maximum hydroponics farm:

REVENUE STREAMS:                                               AMOUNT - USD

1. Installation of Hydroponics Farm                             2,700

2. Structured Training.                                                   200

3. Hydroponics Nutrients.                                               100

Total.                                                                          3,000

COSTS:                                                                    AMOUNT - USD

1. Materials.                                                               1,000

2. Labour and Transport.                                                200

3. Administrative Expenses.                                            800

Total.                                                                          2,000

Profit.                                                                         1,000

Small hydroponics farms are charged according to size and customer needs. Space determines size of farm. Number of animals to feed also determine the size.

Inclusion of financial institutions to work with the farmers is inclussive.

Profits earned through establishment of farms to farmers will bring in money. USD 1,000 per farm.

In first 12 months we expect to have earned USD 100,000 in revenue

Our model B2C is pure business which will not require grants or more financing as it will raise revenue through service delivery.

First year USD 100,000

Second year USD 500,000

Third year USD 2,000,000

Forth year USD 4,000,000