Hydroponics farming is an offshoot of agriculture, a new soilless farming technique which is going to revolutionise the traditional form of agriculture by means of higher crops yields, higher nutrients value and free of harmful pesticides and fertilizers.
read more below
INTRODUCTION
1.What is Hydroponic farming?
Hydroponic farming is a hydroculture process of growing plants in nutrients rich solvent mixed with water and the plant roots are dipped in this solution hanging by plastic frames all without the use of soil is called hydroponics farming.
It is scientifically proven that plants grown through Hydroponics farming methods grow faster and healthier with higher crop yields and crop density when compared to those grown in the soil.
For more scientific information refer to this Research paper (source: ResearchGate) published on Hydroponics farming.
2.An Overview of Hydroponics farming Business Worldwide?
According to the data from Statista, the global Hydroponics market was valued at about 6.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, and is forecasted to grow to about 12 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. (Source: Statista).
In India Hydroponic farming is still at nascent stages and thus there is plenty of opportunities for early movers into this niche farming segment and occupy leadership position.
3.What is the future scope for Hydroponics farming?
Hydroponics farming has existed since decades and has been actively researched and widely practiced in the western countries since early 1940’s.
The future of Hydroponics farming is promising especially in organic farming sector as the demand for organically grown crops with higher nutrients value will rise steadily overtime as people are becoming more health cautious and are avoiding consume to much of chemically treated crops.
Hydroponics businesses started with right business models and focused marketing will be poised to disrupt the traditional model of aggro-retail business structure by flooding the markets with high quality organic produce like vegetable, fruits at very competitive prices thus challenging the traditional soil-based Farms.
INTRODUCTION
1.What is Hydroponics farming?
Hydroponics farming is a hydroculture process of growing plants in nutrients rich solvent mixed with water and the plant roots are dipped in this solution hanging by plastic frames all without the use of soil is called hydroponics farming.
It is scientifically proven that plants grown through Hydroponics farming methods grow faster and healthier with higher crop yields and crop density when compared to those grown in the soil.
For more scientific information refer to this Research paper (source: ResearchGate) published on Hydroponics farming.
2.An Overview of Hydroponics farming Business Worldwide?
According to the data from Statista, the global Hydroponics market was valued at about 6.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, and is forecasted to grow to about 12 billion U.S. dollars by 2025. (Source: Statista).
In India Hydroponic farming is still at nascent stages and thus there is plenty of opportunities for early movers into this niche farming segment and occupy leadership position.
3.What is the future scope for Hydroponics farming?
Hydroponics farming has existed since decades and has been actively researched and widely practiced in the western countries since early 1940’s.
The future of Hydroponics farming is promising especially in organic farming sector as the demand for organically grown crops with higher nutrients value will rise steadily overtime as people are becoming more health cautious and are avoiding consume to much of chemically treated crops.
Hydroponics businesses started with right business models and focused marketing will be poised to disrupt the traditional model of aggro-retail business structure by flooding the markets with high quality organic produce like vegetable, fruits at very competitive prices thus challenging the traditional soil-based Farms.
25 highly Profitable Food Business Ideas in 2023 | Explore this highly profitable food businesses and make money in Heap!
22 Best Profitable Clothing Business Ideas | For You to Start Your Own Clothing Business Line In 2023
20 Profitable Ecommerce Business Ideas | Here’s a list of 20 of the most profitable ecommerce business ideas that’ll bring you great revenue in 2023
RESEARCH
4.What are the basic requirements for building Hydroponics Greenhouse?
While setting up a Hydroponics farming business one has to decide on few things some important factors are budget, space, type of crop to grow, technology to use, harvesting time and overall cost of productions.
The most basic and fundamental requirements for Hydroponics farming are as below.
- Water: The water is the most essential elements in Hydroponics farming. The water should be very well oxygenated and mixed with nutrients rich solutions so that it flows throughout the Hydroponics system efficiently carrying essential nutrients and oxygen to the roots of the plants.
- Air: The growth chambers should be very well ventilated and should allow the passage of air within the Hydroponics system. Plants convert carbon dioxide in the air with help of sunlight to produce sugar for their growth through a natural chemical process called photosynthesis.
- Lighting: Light is very important for plants to grow. Natural sunlight is the best available for free to plants. However, one can use combination of both natural sunlight as well as artificial lights as most Hydroponics farms are grown indoors in controlled environment.
- Nutrients Solutions: Plants need some essential nutrients along with air, light and water to grow and perform their metabolic and reproductive activities. A balanced nutrient solution which includes a mix of both macro-nutrients as well as micro-nutrients in right proportion for plants is also required in Hydroponics farming.
- Green Houses: Hydroponics farming is mostly carried out in green houses under controlled temperature to create an optimum environment ideal for plants throughout the year. Such green houses or chambers are set up depending upon the climatic conditions of the area where the farm is built and the type of crop one wishes to grow.
- Technology: technology is increasingly becoming an integral part of Hydroponics farming as most green houses are set up using smart tech like temperature sensors, water Ph sensors, humidity sensors, electrical conductivity probe, artificial LED lighting like cold and warm lights and software to control automatic sensors etc.
5.How to choose the right location for Hydroponics farming?
Choosing the right location to build your green house for Hydroponics farming is an important step.
Choose the right structural plan and orientation to build your Hydroponics green house.
Be sure that the location you choose receives an ample of natural sunlight from all sides. Also check for the quality of air to make sure that the location is free from any air pollutants.
Another important factor to consider apart from light and air is the access to clean water and electricity. Both water and electricity are important elements of Hydroponics farming make sure that the location you choose for your Hydroponics farms has a constant uninterrupted supply of both water and electricity.
Make sure your location is well connected with various modes of transportation like roads, rail etc. for quick and easy movement of labour and materials.
6.Tools and equipment needed for Hydroponics farming?
There are a quite a few tools and equipment’s needed for Hydroponics farming here are some of the commonly needed tools.
- PVC Pipes.
- NFT Frames and racks
- Submersible Water pumping and filtration systems
- Ventilators and exhaust.
- Hydroponic Drip systems.
- Dutch buckets, mesh trays,
- Hydroponics trays and tables.
- Reflectors, LED lights, ballasts.
- Net pot trays, plant support clips, hydroponic raft etc.
The above list is just a few important items you would need to start your hydroponics farming business. There are number of small farming tools and equipment’s you may need depending upon the type of crops you may grow.
How To Start a Clothing Business in India – The Ultimate 9 Steps Guide You Cannot Miss to Read!
How to Start a Robotics Company: A 10 Step-by-Step Best Guide to Starting Your Own Robotics Company Now!
7.What types of plants and vegetables grow best in Hydroponics farming?
Leafy vegetables like Lettuce, Spinach are easy to grow and can be harvested within few weeks.
Broccoli, tomato, cabbage, capsicum (Bell pepper), cucumber also grow well in hydroponics farms.
Certain Herbs like Basil, cilantro, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme etc can also been grown in hydroponics farming.
Orchids, Iris, amaryllis, daffodils, freesia, chrysanthemum etc are some of the horticulture plants that are perfectly suited to grow in hydroponics farming that produce good results.
Generally, plants with shallow roots systems are preferred as they grow well in hydroponics systems.
FINANCING
8. How much does it cost to set up Hydroponics farm business?
The cost of setting up a hydroponics farm varies greatly depending on the scale of your business whether you wish to farm in few hundred square foot or an acre of land will decide the overall capital required to setup a hydroponics farm.
On an average the cost of setting up a hydroponics farm in 10,000 square feet of land could be any where between $35,000 to $2,50,000 depending on the cost of acquiring land, structural cost, labour, use of high-end tech, consultant charges and the level of complexity of the project.
In India, the capital requirements for setting up a typical Hydroponics farm in 10,000 square feet of area can be around ₹1.5 crore to ₹3 crore. A medium scale Hydroponics farms setup in 2000 to 5000 square feet of area can be up and running in ₹55 to ₹80 Lakhs.
9. How to finance your Hydroponics business?
To finance your Hydroponics farming business one can, choose to raised capital through self means like personal loans and savings.
However, securing an agricultural loan through government sponsored schemes is the most viable method to raise capitals for your farming business.
National Bank for Agriculture and rural development (NABARD) is the authorised bank in India which provides loans on low interest rates along with various subsidies to individuals who are engaged in various Farming activities.
In India both the Central and State governments provide subsidy on capitals investment made on setting up a Hydroponics Farm. These subsidies may vary from 20% to 50 % in various states.
10) How to make your Hydroponics farming business more profitable and increase sales?
The most effective method of making your products more cost effective and reasonable is to sell directly to your consumer bases and thus completely avoid any middle man who may affect your pricing.
Consider growing crops which have high profits margins and are in good demand in the market. Herbs, exotic fruits, flowers and vegetables, crops with high nutrition values etc. are some the examples for profitable produce ‘s one can grow to maximize profits.
Producing highly demanded seasonal crops throughout the year to maximize profits especially when there is more demand in off seasons.
Selling high quality crops under your own brand Labels and brand packaging to reach wider consumer in urban areas and metro’s.
Collaborate with Groceries, Super Market, and hyper local delivery apps to maximize your reach and create brand awareness.
Create Brand and increase social media presence to reach and connect with a young wider audience base and run Brand building campaign on various platforms.
Conclusion
Hydroponic farming systems are poised to blossom in near future as there is more advancement in Aggro-tech sector thus redefining the fate of agricultural business worldwide.
Hydroponics farming will have a great future in India owing to large available farmlands, natural resources, government subsidies, cheap labour and a long history of agriculturally based society all of this is going to push future farmers to move from conventional farming to Hydroponic farming and other mechanised farming systems.
Please Share this Post
