Ex-QDMS

File photo of Donovan Daniels being trained during a hydrponics iniative in Beaufort West. Picture: Leon Muller

“A beacon of hope” is how KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Environmental Affairs Lydia Johnson described the Zenzele Hydroponics Project in KwaDukuza when she launched the project at the weekend.

The launch comes two weeks before the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is set to begin.

One of the issues to be discussed is sustainable agricultural practices.

“One cannot help but appreciate the natural assets this place has, and its potential to develop and sustain people’s livelihoods.”

The department’s focus was on agricultural food production, distribution and security, she said.

“As government, we are more than aware of the extent of poverty that has gripped our communities. Government is of the firm belief that the situation can be contained through an agrarian revolution, and that is why we encourage our communities to practise agriculture.”

The project employs the use of both tunnel farming and hydroponics.

Tunnel farming involves the covering of plants with a plastic-clad semi-circular structure, dubbed a “tunnel” while hydroponics is a system where plants are grown in growth media other than natural soil.

“All the nutrients are dissolved in the irrigation water and are supplied on a regular basis to plants. The advantages of using a water culture (hydroponic method) of cultivating vegetables under protection are that the vegetables are very nutritious and that large yields of a high quality can be obtained,” Johnson explained.

There were many advantages to this type of farming, she said, namely:

l High quality product.

l No soil is needed.

l Plants get a constant supply of nutrients through an automatic irrigation system.

l Able to produce larger yields of vegetables on a small area of land.

l Soil-borne diseases are reduced or eliminated.

The produce grown and harvested at the site gets sorted and graded and supplies both markets and larger stores, like Everfresh.

kamcilla.pillay@inl.co.za