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Nigerian Tribune
~lIesday.
:!x j lll1l', ":111 '
H~w_ Nigerian
expert in SIAfrica produces vegetables without soil
A
Pr AREI\'TL Y not comfortable with incessant scarcity anJ exorbil" "1 prices o f \-egetOlbtes like peppers, to>-
Not only tha t. growing plant in soil as explained by Dr Adebola, is unpredictable and a dh'erse range o f problems are e vident. such . as changing tempenturcs. moisture holding capacity, available nutrient supply, proper root ae ratio n. and disc.'sc and pest control. Hydroponics also allevi .. ates some o f the problems of nature. while giving the farmer precise contTOl o fthc:plant and often time thesea-
matoes, o nions as we ll as
o ther vegetables in the country in recent times, a Nigeri'lI1-bom. but South~ African based agriculture expert. Or Patrick Adebola. h.1Sstaled that thereisa way out of U1(! problem if only
Nigeria n government is ready to listen 10 words of
"'''',A hyd roponic farm er
advice. Dr Adebola. who C.1rTle the country on the invitation o f one of the gO\'emors of the South-West stales to discuss and find a lasting 10
solution to the problem, said the discussion would
centre on how to rurb the ina55allt scarcity and high priCt'S of vegetables; ways to impro\'e agriculturnl practice in the region;: how 10 stimulate the interest of youths in the age-long profession, and most importantly, how loadop! it modem system of producing vegetables without the use of soil. Dr Adebola, a reputable vegeta ble and ornamenta l plant expert at the Ag ri cultural Research Council, Pretoria. Republic of South-Africa. told Tn1nme Agrfru/hu1!' during an interview that the system of producing vegetables in the absence of soil is called hydroponics. Hydroponics. he expl .. irled. has a main objective of producing higher yields o f better quality crops compared 10 conventional open field's vegetable prod uction methods. Heassertro that !his. method was probably the most intensh'e method of crop production culTmUy in use in d evtc'loped nations o f the world. " In his words. " I won't decei ve you, if you go lo Sou thAfrica today where I practice my profession. hydroponics is the m ai n issue as far as production of vegetables li ke onion, s pinach le ttuce, cabbages, ca rrots, pepper, tomatoes and o ther leafy and root vegetables are concerned In fact. if you go to any supermarket in SouthAfrica today, what }'OU will get the re arc vegetables produred by hydroponic meUlod. 1nercfore, there is no scarcity or problem of incessant hike in prices o f vegetables in South-Africa today. So I expect Nigen.., to adopt this me thod to bail itself out from incessant embarrassment and difficulties which scarcity o f vegetables is imposing on Nigerians. Not only that. it would also stop the habit of sole dependence of the people o f South-West on other parts of the count ry for
duce, forced produrer$ 10 1IU'alt ways to alter the environ.. menl in order to meet d("ffi1Jnds.. Not only that. inc:reasing urbanisation and less arable land close 10 cities for agriculture forced farmers to in· crease crop production and improve quality on s maller production areas. H e further emphasised that when it comes to producing food in small s paces, nothing C,1I1 beat hyd roponio. Dy definition. hydroponics means " water -working" . In prflctical use, it means g rowing plant in a water and nutrient solution without soil. The technology allows a gardener to grow plants in a more e ffident and productive manner wi th less labour and time required. On why hydroponics ledtnology is superior to o ther methods of producing vegetables. the plant breeder who is now a Deputy Directornt the Agriculture RcsearchCounciI (ARq South-Africa. responded "the science o f hydroponic proves that soil is not required for plant growth.. but the elements. miner.lls and nutrients that soil has in il. Soil to me, is simply the holder of the nutrients,. a place where the plant roots traditionally li ves and a base of support for the plant structure. In hydroponics.. you provide the exact nutrients your pl.,nt needs, so they can deve lop and grow. 11lc nutrients are also fed directly at the root
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Speaking further, he said. "" should also emphasised that virtually any p lant will grow hydroponically. but 50me will do better than others. Hydroponicgrowing is ideal for buit bearing crops such ns tomatoes, cucumbers and pepper. It is also good for leafy crops like IeUure, herbs and Oower
Most hobby hydroponic gardmers plant crops similar to whilt they would grow in a soil garden. and most commercia l hydroponic growers combine hydroponic technology with a rontrolled environment to achie\'e the highest quality produce. Within a g reenhouse structure, you can control the ambient tern .. pen tu re, humidity and light levels thus aUowing you to grow on a yearround basis. Why do pcoplcnow prefer hydropc>f)ics over conventional growing melhods? The vegelable expert said often times when )'ou mention hydroponics.. people think of it as being relilti\'ely new. In America,. Britain. Europe. South-Africa and Asia,. there were viablccommerdal farms operating sina! the 1950's based on this technology. But loday, hydroponics culture is being used to successfully grow vegetables. flowers, fruit and herbs in a great variety of rountrics across the world.. H
pepper, tomatoes. onions every ti me. Explaining how the system ,,",orks, the plant breeder said hydroponic systems are usually enclosed in gn!en house type structures such as shade net. plastic polythene or glass stnldures within which the environment is c0ntrolled. The demand by consumers for better quality pro-
would be able to manipulate a fruit bearing plant into producing more fruitlilther th.,n levels and also II!..':tend· ing its season long after his competitor's season has ended. Othe r advantages of hydroponics technology include; s uitable soil need not be present ; water usc is conserved, hig h e r and better y ie lds over other convention .. 1 methods; pests and diseases be tle r cont rolled without the use o f harsh chemica ls; water problems a rc lessened; significant reduction in space requirements: growing lime is often lessened; l'Ind heavy manual work is rcdured. (i.e n o tilling of soil wilh some systems being automated). Other ad va ntages of this technology include; betler con· trol of environmenta1 fadors (i.e for indoor or greenhouse: lighting. temperature. humidity, composition oC thE.- atmosphere frequency o f feeding a nd irrigatio n can be controlled ~ h igher and better yield; root zone ~istry easier to rontrol (i.e salt toxicity's. PH. elcctro-ronductivity~ crop rotation not necessary; transport shock is reduced and reduced waler consumption. Moreover, the expert advi5ed stale gOVCm0r5 in \h(> country to embrace and adop! hydroponiCS technology in their agricultulill development programmes, especially those programmes targeted towards achieving food secu· rity. stressing that it could also be used as an employment· generation strategy for the army of unemployed youtJ\S in the country. is wha t is being used tn generate emplopncnt in some developed nations o f the world. TIlCrefore, I advised our government to do the same. II will bring an end to inccss.-mt sc:arrity and epileptic prices of vegetables. especially tom:ltoes, pepper, onions, and o ther leafy and root vegetables. We, experts in this tedmology arc ready to come home and help build Nigerian to achieve its objecth't'S of food security if tJlC)' would give us, the chanct' to d o so.... he conduded
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Fishermen task FG or support HE Nigeria Union of Fishermen and Seafood Dealers has called on the Federal Government In assist fishermen with amenities to boost fish pro(Juetion for export. Mr Anthony Ashagye, N(ltional President of the Union. milde the caJi in an interview with the News AgengofNIgedJJ (NAN)ln Lagos recently. He said that the challenges facing fishermen included remoteness of fishing settlements. old 6shing aaft: and gears as well as the labour intensive nature of fishing. Ashagye lis ted others challenges as lack of access to finance and basic facilities for cold slorage He said that the sub-sector could be high foreign exchange amer for the country if given the required support. Ashagye said that there were job opportuhities in sub-5ector and urgt.>d the Federa1 Government to assist with feasibi lity studies on fisheries development. "The government can alt.o assist in capacity buildiryg and fishing inpuls. It can also help in fish marketing
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pro;ects. processing and preservation pmjeds. fISh export projectsand fiSher- folk mkroaedit scheme." hesaid.