Is hydroponic farming profitable in India?

Hydroponic farming is becoming very popular nowadays worldwide. Most of the people consider it as a part of horticulture because generally, hydroponically grown crops are mostly leafy vegetables and a few leafy plants. Nowadays in several areas people are trying to grow several crops instead of just getting stuck in leafy vegetables. In hydroponics hydro means water and ponics mean labour so it becomes water is used as labour for growing crops. In this article you will get an idea about Is hydroponic farming profitable in India or not.

Hydroponic farming plants

What is hydroponic farming actually and how hydroponic farming work?

Hydroponic farming is a type of farming technique where plants grow in water, no soil is used in a hydroponic system for growing crops. It is a soil-less farming system. In brief, the key role of soil is to provide the required nutrients to the plants for their growth and development and also to provide support to the plants.

The mechanism of hydroponic farming is planting requires macro and micronutrients for their growth and development. Mostly plant requires 17 essential elements to fulfill their life cycle which they take from soils and air.

But in hydroponic farming, essential macro and micronutrients are added to the water which plant absorbs from the water by their roots. In this hydroponic farming system water be flows in a continuous cycle through pipeline and plants are placed in different holes of the pipes. Holes for placing plants in the pipeline are made at a uniform distance. Hydroponics can be two types-one is growing crops in stagnant water and another is growing crops in flowing water.

We need to be very careful about several things when crops are grown hydroponically because when plants are grown in the soil it balances several factors automatically by the soil like pH, EC, availability of water, availability of nutrients, and many more things but when we will grow crops in the hydroponic system then we have to manage several factors manually.

What is the importance of hydroponic farming in agriculture?

Modern days importance of hydroponic farming in agriculture is very huge because the land is becoming limited due to increasing populations tremendously. Those increasing populations are occupying agricultural lands to live due to this agricultural land is diminishing. Due to Urbanization and Industrialization also agricultural land is declining in the future which will affect our production rate. When production will be less it will create a price hike and scarcity. All the building's roofs can be used for hydroponic farming and in vertical ways we can produce more if we have less land or no land. So the importance of hydroponics is huge in the coming future.

Hydroponic farming at home

Advantages of hydroponic farming

Hydroponic farming has several advantages some of them are mentioned below-

• Low-cost farming setup
• It can be installed on the roof of the buildings
• From a limited area, maximum production can be done through vertical farming which is based on growing crops by circulating water from top to the bottom layers.
• In this farming no pesticide is used compared to traditional farming because in the hydroponic system crops are generally grown indoor condition or controlled condition.
• In this system water use efficiency is also high so very little or no water is wasted compared to other farming practices.
• This type of farming can be performed indoors also. There are many hydroponic structures are available which people can install in their homes for hydroponic farming at home in Indian conditions.
• No extra cost for land preparation.
• No chance of crop failure due to low rainfall.

Disadvantages or challenges of hydroponic farming

Everything has its negative side also similarly hydroponic farming system also have some drawbacks which is mentioned below-

• Heavy and long-rooted plants can not be grown under this system like fruit trees can not be grown because for one plant it requires large area.
• Have to be very careful about water availability, pH, EC and nutrient level in the water
• Need special care under stress condition
• The person who is doing hydroponic farming should have proper knowledge in addition of nutrients to the water because less or excess amount of nutrient application can cause deficiency or toxicity to the plants.

  

How to market hydroponic produce?

Another important challenge faced by most new growers is how and where to sell hydroponic vegetables. The marketing of hydroponic produce is a big issue for the new growers or farmers.

In India, hydroponic farming came into the eye of people recently and no special market is there to sell hydroponic vegetables in India. So, growers are not aware of where to sell hydroponic produce in India.

As hydroponic is new to most Indians so, hydroponic growers need to adopt a different and innovative market strategy for selling their products.  Growers need to do marketing of their hydroponic vegetables in online and offline mode at the initial stage for creating awareness among the people of the area.

Use social media for making a brand and reaching your target audiences. Take orders through different social media platforms and deliver them with proper packaging and with your brand logo.

Is hydroponic farming profitable in India or not?

Okay, we have understood what is hydroponic, how, advantages and disadvantages of this type of farming, and how it works but we actually want to know it will be profitable in India or not? Here is the answer- Yes absolutely profitable because it is easier than conventional farming practices because in conventional farming practices you have to prepare the land, you have to take care of pests and diseases and you will be requiring many laborers for managing your field.

In India very few people know about this farming system so for new farmers there is huge scope to start this farming system. Farmers can build their own structures and sell in the market with their own brand.

If you look at the investment amount then you will find that you have to invest some amount at the beginning and later on your investment is very less compare to your other farming practices. Once you have set up your farming then you can work with this setup for a long time. In a hydroponic farm profit margin is very high, you can earn up to 40-50% more than what you have invested for growing your crops.

Initially, you have to invest money in setting your hydroponic farming setup. For this setup you have to make or buy structures, you have to buy tanks where your flowing water will get collected, and again it will get circulated with the help of an air pump. You have to buy pH and EC meters because maintaining these two parameters of water is very important as it is essential for plant metabolism.

Hydroponic farm start-up cost depends on how big your setup will be and the quality of products you are using in your setup.

What are the things we need to take under consideration when we want to grow crops hydroponically?

• Continuous availability of water 
• Level of water pH and EC
• Application of nutrient solutions in a proper quantity or ratio

People have to focus on the above-mentioned points if they want success in hydroponic farming.

In the coming days, hydroponic farming will be very famous in India. I think from this article you understood Is hydroponic farming profitable in India or not. Youths and progressive farmers can start this farming technique as their career because in this type of farming profit is higher than the investment.