By Nneka Nwogwugwu, Abuja
A Nigerian farmer, Samson Ogbole has devised an agricultural model that grows crops in the air.
Ogbole is using these processes called hydroponics and Aeroponics to grow massive crops and make great sales from them.
Sourced from his twitter handle @samsonprolific on Tuesday, April 20, NatureNews reports that the farmer has grown lots of crops like cucumber, pepper, vegetables, among others through these processes.
Former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo and the President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina recently recognised his works in Abuja.
Adesina said, “I was impressed by the creativity of this young man Samson Ogbole.
“His business model on agriculture without using soil is impressive. He is also training other young people in agriculture as a business. Another youth with great potential. Keep it up @Samsonprolific.”
Giving advice to youths in agriculture, Ogbole said, “Don’t pick agriculture because you don’t have a job. Don’t pick agriculture as a retirement home.
“Pick agriculture because:
- You see a gap & can fill the gap
- You are good at it with a unique value
- There is market willing to pay the price for the value “
Ogbole also said that his goal as a Soilless farmer is to teach others.
He further explained why he ventured into soilless farming.
He said, “The beauty of soilless farming include:
“a. The farm setup is an art and a science.
“b. The fertigation system is precise to ensure plants are well fed to meet water and nutrient requirement.
“c. The farm is built to protect against diseases and adapt to the clime.”
NatureNews further gathered that Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate.
Aeroponic culture differs from both conventional hydroponics, aquaponics, and in-vitro (plant tissue culture) growing. Unlike hydroponics, which uses a liquid nutrient solution as a growing medium and essential minerals to sustain plant growth, or aquaponics, which uses water and fish waste, aeroponics is conducted without a growing medium.
