Limitations

Hydroponics can support youth populations. In Djibouti, for example, youth are being educated on the basics of hydroponic technology, making agriculture more appealing for them. In Kenya, hydroponic technologies are being integrated into higher education with the Kenya Education Management Institute, an agency of Kenya’s Ministry of Education, which has established a demonstration center for hydroponic farming. In South Africa, the Makotse Women’s Club, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, is training unemployed youth, AIDS orphans, and other youth community members to start their own hydroponic businesses. The training also covers HIV prevention, nutrition, and environmental conservation.

Hydroponics can support women and other vulnerable populations, such as internally displaced persons. An illustrative example of this is from the northern Darfur refugee camp Zamzam. A German nonprofit, Welthungerhilfe, partnered with a Sudanese nongovernmental organization, Al Rayan for Social Development, to launch a hydroponic project in the camp (Welthungerhilfre 2020). By 2020, they were piloting this project with 150 women who were using locally available materials to build basic hydroponic systems, called “set it and forget it” methods. These intelligent drip irrigation systems use smart tubing to regulate irrigation to the plants. Welthungerhilfe links the internally displaced women with local banks and microfinance institutions to set up village savings and loan associations. As such, project beneficiaries can obtain loans to continue the hydroponic systems on their own. The Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture provides technical support to the beneficiaries, and local agricultural suppliers provide certain inputs. Figure 5.6 shows how hydroponics can build peace in FCV countries.

LIMITATIONS

Poorly implemented hydroponic systems are vulnerable to failure. In systems where roots are highly exposed, plants can dry out rapidly. And in hydroponic solutions, nutrient and pH imbalances can build up far more quickly than in soil. Likewise, waterborne diseases and microorganisms, harmful bacteria, and damaging rots and molds can spread quickly and widely, contaminating solutions fairly easily. These risks are greater in recirculating systems where pathogens can build up over time. Therefore, if something goes wrong in a hydroponic system, entire crops can be wiped out very quickly. Farmers can reduce these risks by following proper sanitation measures such as effective integrated pest management and regular testing and treatment of irrigation water (Wootton-Beard 2019). Covered crops can minimize these risks. And effective identification and treatment schedules are necessary for fungal diseases, which are more likely to occur in the warm, humid conditions of hydroponic systems.