Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Food Production during COVID-19 Pandemic through Year-Round Vegetable Farming Using Hydroponic Technique
The impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused disastrous food shortages and increased food prices due to the disruption of agricultural systems and activities. Less consumption of nutrient-rich foods made the people more susceptible to COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. The situation r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Chemistry Proceedings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4583/10/1/69 |
| _version_ | 1827750704498868224 |
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| author | S. M. Rezaul Karim Raisa Osama |
| author_facet | S. M. Rezaul Karim Raisa Osama |
| author_sort | S. M. Rezaul Karim |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused disastrous food shortages and increased food prices due to the disruption of agricultural systems and activities. Less consumption of nutrient-rich foods made the people more susceptible to COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. The situation resulted in a pivot to develop technology for economic and year-round production of nutrient-rich vegetables to alleviate malnutrition and to improve the immunity of the human body. Hydroponic farming (growing plants without soil) is a resilient food production system which provides perfect conditions for better and faster growth. This study involved the estimation of the total cost of establishing a polyhouse; setting up nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic system, the production costs of selected five vegetables, namely, tomato, broccoli, capsicum, lettuce and cabbage; the determination of their annual production and gross income based on prevailing market prices; and the net profits from hydroponic farming techniques. An amount of BDT 18.75 million (USD 0.22 million) could be earned by growing the selected five vegetables in a polyhouse of 100 m × 75 m size following the NFT technique of hydroponic farming. By investing BDT 31.56 million with a concurrent annual addition of BDT 0.59 million from the 2nd year, an amount of BDT 1.17 million net profit per year can be achieved. If the farmer pays a loan of BDT 0.60 million per year, a profit of BDT 0.56 million can still be earned every year and all the debts can be paid within eight years. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:46:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43827f2cf7ce425ca13ed6c67a8b66c1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4583 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:46:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Chemistry Proceedings |
| spelling | doaj.art-43827f2cf7ce425ca13ed6c67a8b66c12023-11-17T10:17:41ZengMDPI AGChemistry Proceedings2673-45832022-02-011016910.3390/IOCAG2022-12204Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Food Production during COVID-19 Pandemic through Year-Round Vegetable Farming Using Hydroponic TechniqueS. M. Rezaul Karim0Raisa Osama1Department of Crop Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang 43400, MalaysiaSchool of Life Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV47AL, UKThe impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused disastrous food shortages and increased food prices due to the disruption of agricultural systems and activities. Less consumption of nutrient-rich foods made the people more susceptible to COVID-19 infection during the pandemic. The situation resulted in a pivot to develop technology for economic and year-round production of nutrient-rich vegetables to alleviate malnutrition and to improve the immunity of the human body. Hydroponic farming (growing plants without soil) is a resilient food production system which provides perfect conditions for better and faster growth. This study involved the estimation of the total cost of establishing a polyhouse; setting up nutrient film technique (NFT) hydroponic system, the production costs of selected five vegetables, namely, tomato, broccoli, capsicum, lettuce and cabbage; the determination of their annual production and gross income based on prevailing market prices; and the net profits from hydroponic farming techniques. An amount of BDT 18.75 million (USD 0.22 million) could be earned by growing the selected five vegetables in a polyhouse of 100 m × 75 m size following the NFT technique of hydroponic farming. By investing BDT 31.56 million with a concurrent annual addition of BDT 0.59 million from the 2nd year, an amount of BDT 1.17 million net profit per year can be achieved. If the farmer pays a loan of BDT 0.60 million per year, a profit of BDT 0.56 million can still be earned every year and all the debts can be paid within eight years.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4583/10/1/69COVID-19 pandemichydroponic farmingpolyhousesprofitability of hydroponic vegetablesyear-round production |
| spellingShingle | S. M. Rezaul Karim Raisa Osama Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Food Production during COVID-19 Pandemic through Year-Round Vegetable Farming Using Hydroponic Technique Chemistry Proceedings COVID-19 pandemic hydroponic farming polyhouses profitability of hydroponic vegetables year-round production |
| title | Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Food Production during COVID-19 Pandemic through Year-Round Vegetable Farming Using Hydroponic Technique |
| title_full | Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Food Production during COVID-19 Pandemic through Year-Round Vegetable Farming Using Hydroponic Technique |
| title_fullStr | Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Food Production during COVID-19 Pandemic through Year-Round Vegetable Farming Using Hydroponic Technique |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Food Production during COVID-19 Pandemic through Year-Round Vegetable Farming Using Hydroponic Technique |
| title_short | Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Food Production during COVID-19 Pandemic through Year-Round Vegetable Farming Using Hydroponic Technique |
| title_sort | sustainable nutrient rich food production during covid 19 pandemic through year round vegetable farming using hydroponic technique |
| topic | COVID-19 pandemic hydroponic farming polyhouses profitability of hydroponic vegetables year-round production |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4583/10/1/69 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT smrezaulkarim sustainablenutrientrichfoodproductionduringcovid19pandemicthroughyearroundvegetablefarmingusinghydroponictechnique AT raisaosama sustainablenutrientrichfoodproductionduringcovid19pandemicthroughyearroundvegetablefarmingusinghydroponictechnique |