Faith Nyasuguta
As you may know, continuous farming makes soil lose its key fertility hence requiring farmers to apply fertilizers frequently for better crop yields.
The over-dependence on fertilizers drives the cost of production, making it extremely high and reducing profit margins for farmers.
Some areas also have soils with low on no nutrients to support agriculture, making it impossible for society to attain food security.
To get rid of those limitations, agricultural experts have innovated aeroponics as a method of growing plants without soil.
Aeroponics grows crops using only water, nutrients, and air which is supplied to the roots in the form of a mist.
The farming method is being embraced by most farmers since crops grown using this method produce three times more yield compare to those grown conventionally.
On how it works, the roots of the plants are suspended in a mist of nutrient-rich water, which provides them with all the oxygen and nutrients needed.
Since water is not poured on soil, aeroponics uses 90 per cent less water than crops grown in farm fields making it an ideal practice for areas with water scarcity.
Further, crops in aeroponics are much less susceptible to pests and diseases since they are not planted on the soil where they come into contact with weeds, reducing the cost of production.
Science Direct, an agricultural journal reveals that aeroponics also improves the quality of food crops.
“Crops grown under this system are typically more nutritious and flavourful than conventionally grown crops,” the journal states.
The system further does not require a rainy season to grow crops which makes it a key tool in ending food insecurity.
The key limitation of the aeroponics system is that it requires skill to set up the system and farmers are encouraged to study the system before embarking on it.
