Aeroponics Farm:
Tropical Aeroponics Pte Ltd is a farming company that grows plants and cultivates vegetation based on aeroponics method. Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or geoponics (soil or earth). This helps to prevent spread of bacteria through soil.The aeroponic plants are grown by placing the pots of the plant in the cover of a styrofoam box. The styrofoam box is then filled with water and the seeds are placed in the pots. The objects (i can't remember what the objects are called) in the pot will absorb the water below them and thus the seeds will start to germinate. Once the plant has become almost fully grown, the roots on the underside of the plant will appear to be like this:
Features of the Aeroponics Farm:
There is a production and packaging area which vegetables are packed into boxes. An example of this vegetable is the butterhead lettuce. These vegetables are usually harvested on the morning itself and then brought to the packaging area for packing and branding. Two of the brands are "Green Rose" and "Sheng Sio". "Green Rose is the well known for their quality organic vegetables.
In the Aeroponics Farm, there are 25 green houses, all of which are sheltered to prevent birds and pests from entering. Out of all 25 greenhouses, only 4 are open to visitors to view. The other 21 greenhouses require sterilisation of the body before entering. This is so as to achieve maximum hygiene for hygienic farming techniques.
In addition, the Aeroponics Farm also has a germination room. This germination room is kept cool, at about 2 degrees celsuis to 3 degrees celcius. The room is also kept completely dark as seeds germinate better in the dark. Although it is said that seeds germinate better in warmth, aeroponics plants germinate better in cold temperatures. This is because normal plants that grow in soil need warm soil to grow well. Aeroponic grown plants do not use soil to grow, thus they grow well in the cold.Another feature in the Aeroponics Farm is the well. This well is about 3 metres deep. Its water is changed every 2 to 3 days to prevent bacteria or moss from building up as these things affect the growth of the plants. The well contains vitamins, nutrients and organic minerals. Inside the well, there is a nutrients stick to monitor the nutrients. There is a pump that distributes these liquids to the water beds, through sprinklers. The sprinkles will then spray, every 30 seconds, at the suspended roots of the plants. (Below is a picture of the well)
Bollywood Veggies Farm
Bollywood Veggies Farm is place with a great diversity of plants with different uses grown in it. Examples of the plants are ke dong dong, sword bean, mimosa, drumstick tree (moringa leaf comes from it), hibiscus, banana, starfruit, roselle, neem, indian borage and all spice.
These plants each have their uses and these are the uses of some of the plants:
hibiscus: its oil can serve as cosmetics, shoe polish, hair conditioner.
banana: parts can be used. leaf can be used as plates in indian restaurants. banana flowers point downwards. banana flowers that point upwards are poisonous. if they don't point upwards, they are not poinsonous.
starfruit: place a small piece of starfruit on a bleeding wound to stop the bleeding.
roselle: the plant that makes our Ribena.
neem: used to brush teeth in the past, "nature's tooth brush".
indian borage: also known as asian oregano, good for sore throat and cough.
all spice leaves: full of flavour and are better for seasoning dishes instead of adding condiments such as salt and pepper.
Pros and Cons of High Technology Farming
Pros of High Tech Farming:
1. Less space is used: High-tech farming such as aeroponics requires less space because the can be stacked on top of one another. This way, less space is used for the growth of more crops.
2. Less time consuming: The growing process of high tech crops is much faster than that of regular farming.
3. More produce: High tech farming has high production rate due to advanced technology. Chemicals and growinf agents might be added to the water given to the plants. This increases economic growth. (Trade and business)
4. Less manpower required: Less work, more efficiency. High tech farming does not require a lot of work to harvest the produce.
Cons of High Tech Farming:
1. Cost: High tech farming is expensive and requires large sums of money to set up. there are facilities, theories and other scientific work to pay for to have a successful and original high tech farm. Maintainence cost is also high.
2. Unsafe: High tech farming requires the use of chemicals, nutrients and fertilisers that are not natural. Some of these chemicals are used for pesticides and some are used as growth agents for the plant.
3. Lack of Support: It may be tough getting workers to work for a high tech farm due to rising costs of food.
Reflections/Thoughts
The two farms we have visited in total are two complete different sides of the story. One is high tech and advanced while another is laid back and traditional. The two farms have different goals and motives when working. The high tech farm, on one hand, is focusing on using chemicals and making use of today's technology to produce more and provide more to feed and meet the high demands for food and satisfy the customers. On the other hand, the traditional farming method of Bollywood Veggies is focusing more on taking advantage of nature and its gifts to produce better food, though it might be lesser. Bollywood Veggies is also not attempting to meet the high demands for food, but only the demands for good tasting food.We can therefore conclude that one farm focuses on quantity, the other on quality. It is difficult to compare if quality or quantity is more worth it at this point. But due to the high demands for high quantities of food, quantity matters more.
However, I believe that both types of farming are needed for food supplies. Although the traditional farming method does not produce as much as the high tech farm does, it is still important that we have both types of farming methods to supply Singapore with food. We cannot only depend on one source of food. There must be a backup and reserve plan.
Singapore also cannot be depending on other countries for food supply perpetually, which is where high tech farming and organic farming comes into place. High tech farming has plenty of advantages over organic farming.
For example, high tech farming requires less space and can be stacked on top of each other and still grow as per normal. Organic farming requires large amount of land area. In Singapore, our population is increasing rapidly and there might not be enough land area for organic farming. High tech farming, most probably aeroponics, might just be the very answer to solve the high demands for food. Everything has flaws and so does the method of high tech farming.
Although high tech farming seems like the answer, we have to look ahead into how we can afford the high costs of high tech farming. to build the shelves for storage of plants in high tech farming can cost hundreds of thousands, and imagine if we were to add in maintainence cost? it would incur to about over a million per year. it is a costly price to pay, literally.
In conclusion, i feel that high tech farming so far, is one of the best methods that has been invented to overcome this huge challenge of food shortage, despite all the flaws. i support high tech farming and i think that instead of being particular about the food we eat, we should just be contented with what is placed under our noses and not complain. This way, we can all play a part to reduce food shortage.
Our Hydroponic Plant
We were assigned 4 pots of hydroponic plants (japanese cucumber, chilli padi, kang kong, bayam) and expected to grow them. My group's plant was grown in my garden. As observed, the growth of the plant was interesting. At seedling stage, the growth was extremely slow, especially the chilli padi. The chilli padi only started sprouting on the 6th or 7th day. However shoots could be observed. Growing these plants required a lot of patience and determination because the plants did not grow very fast at first. We also had to take pictures of these plants every few days to keep track of their growth. After the plants had become more or less mature and fully grown, their roots became extremely long and thick. This increased the rate of absorption of water from the roots by more than two times. We had to top up the water in the water beds below every 2 days because they were empty by then. Overall, i think it was a great experience. (:
Samantha Samuel (2-1)