One of the seventh wonders of the ancient world-the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, was one of the earliest known hydroponic structures used for the planting of herbs, lettuce, shrubs and vines. The plants were suspended over terraces and draped over walls.
It is from this beautiful piece many Agriculturists draw inspiration on what culminated into the universally known Soilless Farming being currently devised for use by the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute (AMEDI) Lafia, Nasarawa State, a division of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), whose mandate is to solve agricultural and agro-allied technological challenges in the North Central states of Benue, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
The AMEDI’s Soilless Farming was a challenge thrown at the management of the institute when the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NASENI, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu visited AMEDI on January 16, 2024, for an on-the-spot assessment of activities taking place there. The visit was in line with the newly crafted NASENI Strategic Launchpad with the revolving theme of “Infinite Possibilities: Economic Transformation through Advancement in Technology Transfer and Adaptations”.
This new thinking expects each NASENI Institute to engage and leverage their host state’s comparative advantages through the Agency’s principles of Collaboration, Creation and Commercialization (3Cs).
Since then, it has been a tale of trailblazing for AMEDI, with 12 Green Houses constructed as of April 2024 for the purpose of planting, in a Soilless fashion, climate-defying agricultural practices, vegetables such as Bell Pepper, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Cucumber, Spring Onions, Carrot and Habanero Pepper.
NASENI AMEDI’s Soilless planting involves the usage of Mapal Trough used to produce Bell Pepper, Tomatoes and Cucumber; Grow Bag for the production of Bell Pepper, Tomatoes, Carrot and Spring Onions; Dutch Bucket for the production of Tomatoes; Vertical Grow Pot for the production of Lettuce, Pineapple Tower; and A-frame for the production of Lettuce and Spring Onion.
This is a modern Aeroponics system that runs on 24-hour solar system to produce Orange Flesh Sweet Potato Vines, Nutrient Film Technique which equally runs on power supply for the growth of lettuce as well as Deep Water Culture system chiefly devised to produce Lettuce.
The NASENI Multispan Greenhouse, one of the best in Africa, has a wet wall fitted to continuous cooling regardless of the ambient temperature of the environment where the greenhouses are stationed. The project boasts of sophisticated Irrigation systems that supply unlimited flow of clean underground water to the plants through Drip Irrigation to ensure optimum growth in line with global Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
On a daily basis, this NASENI institute’s sophisticated greenhouse facilities can produce 250kg Tomatoes, 80kg Cucumber, 100kg Bell Pepper, 50kg Habanero Pepper, 50kg Lettuce. Others are 10kg carrot and Spring Onions.
Based on its business model of supplying Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Consumers (B2C), AMEDI Lafia has established a very strong customer base across Lafia modern market, hotels and restaurants in Lafia, Abuja and Benue where it currently sells its produce through prior booking, conveyed to the market on request, way billing or visitation to its farm for outright purchase.
Inadequate storage can affect the wholesomeness of some veggies, hence the construction of a well-structured Charcoal storage room that provides further cooling effect needed for the veggies to have longer shelf-lives, prior purchase or consumption.
To ensure post-harvest losses are minimized in addition to harnessing substantial value addition, AMEDI’s processing machines such as its 80-litre multi-purpose processing machine are fully put into good use to produce Tomatoes paste, purée and ketchup. Other machines that will come handy are Pasteurization mMachine, Pneumatic Filler and Capping Machine.
The institute has designated a Cold Chain facility that is near completion where all products after processing are stored before dispatch, including all necessary quality assurance tests and certification satisfactorily carried out. NASENI is at the centre of the drive to bring back the vibrant days of Nigerian agriculture through the use of modern technology.
NASENI under its visionary leader, Mr. Halilu, is prioritizing precision technology and climate-smart agricultural methods to ensure food security all-year round in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal, SDG Goal 2 on Zero Hunger.
According to Overseeing Officer, AMEDI Lafia, Engr. Mustapha Usman, Hydroponic and Soilless Farming technology is a “master piece initiated by the EVC. We have 12 greenhouses and all these are courtesy of the EVC/CEO, and now, see the kind of bumper harvest we are having.”
Farm manager of AMEDI Lafia, Mr. Olaniyi Abdulwaheed Wale, said some of the advantages and benefits of Soilless Farming is higher yields, controlled environment, and non usage of soil. He said using the soilless process enables the Institute to have total control of the process from planting to the level of water which the plants need, to the nutrients and others.
“We use the back of coconut shell, rice husk, and cocopit because they have high water retention capacity and we have an irrigation line that we use in watering the plants on precision basis. After few months of planting the crops, we have an abundance of yields such as tomatoes, bell pepper, lettuce, cucumber and carrots. We harvest about 200kg of tomatoes per day,” he added.
The EVC of NASENI’s commitment to food security is not limited to Soilless Farming. The Agency is dedicated to collaborating with other institutions to share expertise to promote sustainable agricultural practices across Nigeria. With the increasing adoption of Soilless Farming practices, it is expected that it would boost food production and enhance smart agricultural practices in order to achieve the Federal Government food security objective.
