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By: Sultan Dogar
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Hydroponic farm is established near Osma Bin Ladin Compound in Bilal Town. Huge Investment is made to establish this farm. Engineer M. Waqas Ghauri Marketing Manager of Abbottabad Hydroponic told VoiceOfHazara.com that latest techniques have been used to grow variety of vegetables in this farm. In past countries with Sand like Saudi Arabia & countries with extremely cold like Russia have problem to grow vegetables due to their seasons. After Invention of Hydroponic technology, now saudi Arabia is exporting vegetables.
In Hydroponic farming vegetables grow chemically free. no chemicals are used in Hydroponic farming. In Hydroponic farming Whole farm is closed by glass or plastic sheets to establish desire temperature. If their is very hot, then fans are turn on to down the temperature, during winter sunlight is automatically stored in sealed farm, during night maximum temperature remain between 15 to 30 Degree centigrade. Controlling of Temperature is very important in Hydroponic farming.
In Abbottabad Hydroponic farm Plants are installed in special row. Two Pipelines are used in every row of plant. This Pipeline have small hole on every plant. A water tank is also Installed, all pipelines are linked with this water tank. Daily every morning and evening food for plants are supplied in pipelines. Plants used Components for their growth, are supplied by water tank via pipelines every morning and evening twice a day. Temperature is maintained. Every plant is prepared with in 40 days. average life of plant is 6 month. In 40 days every plant provide fruits.
In Abbottabad Hydroponic farm Capsicum, Strawberry & tomatoes are prepared. Hydroponic farming have huge investment but high in profit. Large no of People using Hydroponic farming in their houses to generate income in many Asian countries. But in Pakistan it still under process.
“Through this technique, farmers can get between 450 and 550 tons of vegetables per acre, compared to the average yield of 15 tons per acre using traditional farming,” said Engineer Waqas Ghauri, the Marketing Director at Abbottabad Hydroponic.
Ghauri uses coconut waste imported from Sri Lanka as the solid medium in which he grows his plants. The vegetable plants are then irrigated through a water injection system. Abbottabad Hydroponic uses reverse osmosis water purification systems to ensure good water quality.
Each plant requires up to two liters of water per day, which needs to be slightly acidic, with a pH of 5.8.
Each plant requires up to two liters of water per day, which needs to be slightly acidic, with a pH of 5.8.
The vegetable produced on the farm attract high prices. Customers include large retailers and wholesale chains as well as hotels and restaurants that have historically imported their produce from the European markets.
Ghauri sells the tomatoes for about Rs 225 $2.50 US approx) per kilogram, compared to the cost of importing them from the Netherlands, which can run as high as Rs 800 per kilogram. The seeds for the tomatoes are Canadian imports and most the other materiel required for the operation are also imports – from China and Sri Lanka for the most part. The imports are costly, but the returns allow for this.
“Our production method allows us to not use any kind of pesticides,” said a quality control officer at Abbottabad Hydroponic.
Still, this type of growing is not cheap – the cost is a barrier to growing hydroponically in much of the world. Hydroponic farming requires an investment of up to Rs 1.5 million per acre, though it can yield net profits of up to Rs 3 million per acre annually if there is enough capital to set it up initially.
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