Is Hydroponics The Future of Farming In Bangladesh?

By Tanveer Mohiuddin

July 10, 2021

Hydroponics uses just nutrient-rich water to grow crops

Farmers across the Khulna region have not been able to make good use of the land for the cultivation of crops and vegetables. This is due to the region being flood-prone and the salinity of the soil. “We can neither cultivate crops nor fishes,” says a 45-year-old farmer from Satkhira district in the southwestern part of the country. 

Bangladesh is known to have flat fertile land which is exceptionally good for cultivating crops and vegetables all year round, but with the rise in water levels, the southern regions of the delta are becoming less cultivation friendly. 

Most parts of the region are becoming prone to floods and water-logging due to the Ganga-Brahmaputra River tributaries that flow through the country and often change their course. In addition to that, the saline soil makes it impossible to grow the necessary produce. In order to tackle such a problem, experts have come up with newer farming technologies to help cope with such problems.

Dr A F M Jamal Uddin, a renowned professor of the Department of Horticulture at Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, has given much hope with  the use of hydroponics for growing crops in places where using soil can be challenging. 

This method is also applicable for promoting urban farming where land is scarce and can sometimes be extremely expensive and unfeasible for cultivation. He mentions the challenges of pursuing this method as Bangladesh is yet very far off from using the method for commercial usage as the setup cost is very high. 

In order to make sure the process gives sufficient dividends with its crop yields; the crops need to be grown inside a greenhouse made out of specialized polythene which helps control the temperature inside. Rain and rough weather can be a huge challenge in this respect as they can damage the setup. 

More durable polythene can be used but that is only made in Israel, and bringing them here in Bangladesh is next to impossible with no diplomatic ties between the two. However, there are many high-value leafy crops that can easily be grown with this technique. 

It’s most fitting for fodder cultivation for livestock farms around the urban areas as the year-round grass can ensure a steady feed for the cattle in places where empty land is difficult to find. Growing cattle feed or even leafy vegetables can easily be done with very little setup costs.  

Floating gardens of Bangladesh

As the drylands become scarce in the region, farmers are forced to use Dhaps, a local name for floating garden agriculture practice better known as hydroponics. Hydroponics is a type of horticulture that involves growing plants and crops without the use of soil. 

This is a method used by farmers for generations. But the technique is far more superior now and can yield crops in a larger quantity than before. Due to salinity, this method of growing farm produce has become ever more necessary as high-value crops can be cultivated all year round without the use of soil.

The Bangladesh government has been trying to promote such farming methods to be more widely used especially in these regions where monsoon rains can easily cause floods. In 2013, the government-sanctioned a project worth $1.6 million to promote floating agriculture, the project covered 12,000 families in eight districts across 50 locations. 

A similar project was also recently started a couple of years back after the success of the initial one. Farmers in these low-lying regions are benefitting tremendously as vegetables such as spinach, eggplant, bitter gourd and even spices like turmeric and ginger can be grown easily. 

“Last month we sold fish worth Tk 9,000 and spinach worth Tk 1,200 in the local market,” says Rani—a farmer who cultivates using the “Aqua-cage culture” method. This process does not require any fertilizers or insecticides, as a result, the vegetables are fully organic and financially more viable as no additional costs are incurred.

Challenges of Hydroponics Farm

According to experts who are trying to develop this method to become more efficient so that it can be used commercially, there are a few challenges that need to be taken care of such as, farmers need to be trained so that they can figure out how much cooling, dehumidification and heating are required to manage the temperature and humidity of the space for growing. This is a challenge that is difficult to overcome as most farmers lack proper literacy.

In order to properly set up a system that local company ACI is currently doing in Gazipur, huge amounts of money need to be invested as the system requires HVAC equipment. An HVAC equipment can include air conditioners, dehumidifiers, circulation fans, ductwork, chillers, boilers, pumps and pipes which all sums up to a huge cost of production, which is impossible for the ordinary Bangladeshi farmers to take on.  

However, more and more people are coming into this method of cultivation, one such example is a Dohar-based Mizanur Rahman, who is a textile businessman and an amateur hydroponic vegetable grower. He has a setup of around 3000 sq ft greenhouse in which he cultivates tomatoes. In order to make the model more commercially viable, more expertise needs to be made available.

In order to tackle climate change and the rise of water levels and salinity of the soil in many regions across Bangladesh, new farming techniques need to be adopted by the farmers, which needs proper knowledge to do properly. With the help of government research and funding, these new methods can enable higher crop yields using up much lesser space.