Undercover farming

Opportunities beckon in water-efficient farming

Undercover farming offers more opportunities for sustainable farming to farmers in Africa, in comparison with landbased farming. This is true especially in an environment in which climate change has driven the world to reconsider traditional methods of farming.

Over 60% of the Africa’s population is involved in small holder farming, in one form or the other (McKinsley Report, Winning in African Agriculture 2019). Somewhat, in the past this served the subsistence requirement for staple food, save for years of famine when western donor agencies had to intervene to provide assistance. Nonetheless, two ongoing developments have emerged as risks to the sustainability of this traditional method of farming: climate change which has resulted in drought conditions and depletion of arable land due to population growth. As you would expect, this has raised concerns about future food security.

Evidently, this situation calls for the urgent exploration of alternative methods of farming that can help manage growing drought condition and land scarcity. Interestingly, one of the methods that have risen to prominence in the past decade as a viable option is undercover farming (also called tunnel farming). Undercover farming is a new parlance for farming with hydroponics in greenhouses.

What is hydroponic cultivation?

In hydropronic cultivation, plant roots are suspended in oxygenated water instead of soil in a controlled environment inside greenhouse structures (plastic tunnels and multi-spans) and shade netting, which offers protection against possible wind, hail and bird damage. To meet irrigation requirements, micro-irrigation and a drip irrigation system are used.

In micro-irrigation, moisture is delivered in a fine mist. In drip irrigation, single drops of water are delivered at a regulated rate at the base of the stem. Drip irrigation is managed through pre-set electronic system that also controls the interior climate (humidity, airflow and temperature). The ultimate objective is to create conditions that permit optimal plant growth.

What do farmers benefit?

There is no question that undercover farming offers more opportunities for sustainable farming, in comparison with land-based farming. This is true especially in an environment in which climate change has driven the world to reconsider the traditional method of farming.

i. Water efficiency

The primary advantage of a hydroponic system is that it uses little water. If optimised, hydroponic system can little as 30% of the amount of water typically used to grow a similar crop on open land under irrigation. Also, there is less water

lost through evaporation. At about 10 percent, the rate of water used lost through evaporation is significantly low.

ii. Elimination of human error

The system is largely computerised to avoid human error as far as possible. Nutrients and oxygen needed are controlled in the water. Unused water is recycled, filtered back into the system. Moreover, a lean staff can be able to manage a modern greenhouse, thanks to advances in technology, save for cleaning the area, looking for pests and harvesting.

iii. Other benefits

Dr Johnny van de Merwe, an agricultural economist from the University of the North West’s Potchefstroom campus, did an analysis on the quality and yield of hydroponic greenhouse vegetable production and open field production in 2019. His study concluded that, in comparison with open-land farming, undercover farming offers the following benefits: • Higher yields. • Better quality crops. • Soil and environmental conservation. • Out-of-season crop production through internal environmental manipulation. • Environmental control by regulating light intensity, temperature and humidity. • Better pest and disease management.

Does the investment really pay off?

It is worth acknowledging is that undercover farming does not come cheap, and not many can afford it in the current economic climate. It is very capital-intensive, hence the preserve for the ones with the financial means.

One of the costliest aspects is filtration. Before water is supplied to plants in an undercover farming system, first it must be filtered through expensive systems to remove possible pollutants. Also, the technology required to monitor this system comes at a cost. Power outages too may necessitate investment in alternative power sources like solar power systems and generators, which may drive up the initial investment.

On the other hand, it could be argued that the high costs in undercover farming can be offset by the substantial returns it brings. The initial investment may appear prohibitively high. However, the reality is that it may be almost the same as, or, in some cases even cheaper than the cost of setting up a conventional farm on open land. For a properly established operation with right planning and qualified staff, with diligent management, the return on investment could be realised somewhere between 20 and 30 months.

Conditions are ripe

On the whole, circumstances dictate that conditions are ripe for undercover farming has to be adopted in mainstream agriculture. Besides being the means of coping with worsening drought conditions and depletion of arable land as abovementioned, new developments augur well for the future of undercover farming. Amongst numerous others the main positive factors are the growing appreciation of a healthy lifestyle which include vegan dishes, as well as the demand for specialised crops like cannabis for pharmaceutical use.

A lucrative venture

Developments in South Africa demonstrate that undercover farming could be a lucrative business in Africa. Already, table grapes, nuts, citrus, deciduous fruit, avocado, apples and berries are grown in greenhouses in all the country’s nine provinces. Currently, the Department of Agriculture in South Africa has not published statistics on the number of undercover farming operations in South Africa. But one thing for sure, opportunities beckon.

Credits: Hydroponics and undercover growing - Digital Agriculture and Farming handbook.

Our productive land is in decline, so how can we keep up with the increasing demand for food?

Soil is a finite resource, and it can take up to 1,000 years to produce a single inch of top soil. Over 90% of the food that feeds both humans and animals relies on soil as its foundation, but soil is now under threat like never before. It’s estimated that, by some measures, up to 40% of agricultural soils are degraded in some way, and that figure is rising.

It’s the first five to ten inches of soil that contain almost all the precious nutrients, but this top soil is at the mercy of the elements. Amongst other threats, it can be physically blown away, washed away, or have its nutrients leeched away.

In episode five of the BBC World News and bbc. com series, Follow the Food: The Promised Land, renowned botanist, James Wong, investigates how some farmers are exploring radical new methods, hoping not only to stop the decline, but even reverse the damage.

Regenerative agriculture

Regenerative agriculture rehabilitates the ecosystem of a farm, and improving soil health is at its heart. Tilling, or turning over the soil, is stopped or reduced, crop rotation is encouraged, along with diverse protective cover crops. Agricultural chemicals are cut back, and livestock may be introduced.

Jeff Aalund, an oat farmer in North Dakota, is trying a technique called regenerative agriculture.

He said: “I like to farm with more focus on what I’m passing onto the next generation, and doing it with the attitude that you’re doing something good for the land, and you’re doing something good for yourself and your family. I was sceptical at first, but I’ve seen what it can do and I’m absolutely sold on this type of farming. In just one season, I couldn’t believe how much the land changed. On the soil structure, the way the crops responded the next season.”

Sections of Jeff’s farm were so bad, he was unable to grow anything, but that’s changing fast, and it’s a solution backed by global food giant, General Mills, a USD $17 billion food company, and one of the oldest in the United States. Jeff Harmening, Chairman and CEO at General Mills, said: “We are the first company, globally, to set a target – we want to have regenerative agriculture on a million acres by 2030. When we talk about regenerative agriculture, we are talking about agriculture that actually regenerates the soil – that helps sequester carbon, that helps maintain water, and maintains nutrients in the soil. If you think about 90% of the top soil being degraded over the next 30 years, we need to act now.”

General Mills has been providing farmers, like Jeff Aalund, with mentors to help them switch to the new techniques.

Harmening added: “We have about 45 oat farmers we’re working with, along with experts. We work with those farmers to determine what kind of crops they ought to develop. They have every reason to want this to work because the climate is changing so much - they see more rain; they see more drought. What we’re planning on is showing the world that this actually can work, so it’s just a start, but it’s a good start and a big start to prove the theory of the case.”

Land degradation

Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary, United Nations to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), said: “According to the latest science, one in four hectares of ice-free land in the world is severely degraded, and up to 70% of our land has been altered by human activities. Up to 2.1 billion people in the world are directly affected by land degradation, and half of humanity – more than 3 billion people – are indirectly affected in some way. That’s a major challenge we’re facing now. The good news is that there are solutions; we are still able to reverse the situation.”

Dr Susan Chomba, Regreening Africa Project at World Agroforestry, said: “In Africa, around two thirds of our agricultural land is extremely degraded. That means declining agricultural productivity and, therefore, less income for farmers. It also means farmers are constantly abandoning areas where productivity is low, and moving to virgin lands that can be able to produce more agriculture.”

Regreening Africa is an ambitious, EU-funded, sub-Saharan project, with agroforestry at its heart. They’re aiming to help 500,000 households restore a million hectares of agricultural land by 2022 in countries including Senegal, Mali, Niger, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somali and Rwanda.

“Regreening Africa is a programme that is looking at the problems of land degradation. The African continent has huge areas that are arid and semi-arid, and in those areas, you will see just small short shrubs that don’t seem to grow into trees. There’s a lot of potential in converting those shrubs into trees, and tree planting is a win-win scenario because they take carbon from the atmosphere and convert it into the biomass that they are growing in. It’s extremely critical for climate change,” said Dr Chomba.

Samwel Ondiek Sana, a smallholder farmer in Ogongo and a participant in the programme for the past three years, said: “When I came to my farm, my farm was bare - it was deserted and degraded – and I thought I should change it. I embraced the issue of planting trees, and started with the Calliandra trees because it has a lot of uses. It improves soil fertility and it helps with soil erosion. It cools the running water, and it provides food for my animals. It’s quite important for my farm.”

After planting Calliandra trees on the border of his farm, Samwel noticed big changes in his soil, and he is now a leading figure in his community, training others in agroforestry and natural regeneration methods to protect the soil.

Source BBC World News : --Follow the Food: The Promised Land

Soil health is the world’s health and farmers’ wealth

Aglobal community advocating action to improve soil and root health was launched on 1 March with the inaugural One Earth, Root and Soil Health Forum. More than 800 people attended the online event to discuss how to unlock the potential of better soil and root health to help transform food systems and improve climate resilience. The Forum was hosted by, among others, Syngenta Seedcare and the Syngenta Foundation, and brought together experts from farming, international organisations, NGOs, academia and the public and private sectors.

In his keynote address, the CEO of the Syngenta Group and chairman of the Syngenta Foundation, Erik Fyrwald, noted that the link between soil health, food security and climate change is not immediately evident, mainly because life “down under” is a mystery to most of us. “Yet, around 25% of the planet’s biodiversity is found in its soils, and soil is the planet’s second largest carbon store,” he noted. This is just one of reasons why Syngenta, a global leader in crop protection and seedcare solutions, has committed itself to restoring 3million hectares of degraded farmland per year. “Unsustainable cultivation practices release thousands of tonnes of carbon from soil every year, which contributes to climate change and depletes the soil of the nutrients essential for food production,” Fyrwald said.

The situation is particularly dire in Africa, which is home to 60% of the as-yet-unfarmed arable land in the world. The continent’s rich but vulnerable soils are already degraded due to poor farming practices. It is also one of the areas where climate change will have the biggest impact on agricultural yields.

According to Dr Steve Maund, head of global product safety at Syngenta, taking better care of the world’s 1,5 billion hectares of farmland, is humankind’s most viable option to reverse climate change through increased carbon storage. “Healthy soils and plant roots can help our world to become carbon neutral,” he said.

Alarmingly, it is estimated that around 38% of global crop land and 21% of grassland are degraded, leaving soil unable to provide other ecosystem services, such as water purification and storage. When soil health is compromised, all these vital functions – food production included – come under threat.

The impact of agricultural practices In the forum’s South African parallel session, participants focused on the impact of nematodes – a serious soil pest – on root health and the early development of crops.

Professor Driekie Fourie, nematologist and researcher at the School of Biological and Agricultural Sciences at North-West University, shared research findings that indicate nematode pressure increases over time if populations are not managed, and that crop rotation systems currently used in South Africa are conducive to nematode build up. She emphasised the need for a holistic management approach, given that plant-parasitic nematodes often open the door to secondary fungal infections and that these disease-nematode complexes worsen crop damage.

“We are also concerned about the discovery of a new nematode species on maize and soybean in the Highveld region,” says Professor Fourie. “It underlines the urgent need for a more pro-active approach towards nematode control.”

Stefan van Zyl, Seedcare business manager South Africa, and Hennie le Roux, ABInBev model farm manager, concurred and highlighted the need for creative solutions.

“There is no silver bullet,” said van Zyl. “A holistic approach that includes a variety of integrated pest management practices, is needed.” While seed treatment is the first line of defence against plant-parasitic nematodes, it has to be supported by other management practices such as in-furrow applications, the planting of nematode-resistant cultivars and weed control to limit the negative impact of plant-parasitic nematodes.

Van Zyl highlighted the benefits of seed treatment as a management tool. “It ensures the chemical is placed exactly where it is needed, namely around the seed and the roots of the developing seedling. Seed treatments also target only plant-parasitic nematodes, allowing the beneficial species to do their good work.” Finally, producers can combine a fungicide with a nematicide in a seed treatment to prevent secondary fungal infections.

“Pest management and conservation agriculture are vital to reduce disease pressure, improve soil health and work more responsibly with chemicals,” said le Roux. “It all adds up to a more profitable farm.”

The importance of crop protection, particularly in terms of root health, cannot be overstated. This was clearly illustrated by Professor Richard Sikora, former head of soil-ecosystem phytopathology at the University of Bonn, who said that producers currently give away as much as 30% of their yields to pests and diseases.

The call to action is clear: farmers, especially Africa’s millions of smallholders, have to be empowered to be the primary caregivers of the soil in the interest of food security and climate change management alike.

The one Earth, Root and Soil Health Forum was organised by Agventure, Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA), African Seed Trade Association (AFSTA), Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Rizobacter, Seed Co Limited, Syngenta Seedcare, the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, Solidaridad and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). https://soilroothealth.com/

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