In India, less than 12 units are operating about 25 acres under the hydroponics method of cultivation, unlike in other leading countries such as USA, Australia, Israel, Japan, Holland, New Zealand and South Africa, where the overall cultivation under the system would be around 6,000 acres.

`Although the practice is very ideal for growing high value vegetables through out the year, the fact that it requires huge investment and some basic knowledge on chemistry, plant physiology and crop botany has deterred many from adopting the system,' said S Magalingam, senior consultant, Agri Business Consultancy Services (ABCS), Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). For instance, for producing quality vegetables, the initial investment would be around Rs 18 lakh per acre under the aggregate culture or the gravel culture method wherein cinders, broken bricks, clinkers, plastics and vermiculite are used instead of soil. This also includes the working capital and the cost of infrastructure development. If the machinery is imported the investment would be nearly Rs 25 lakh per acre, he added.

Hydroponics can be practised in hostile conditions and in regions where field cultivation is not possible. The system can assume higher yield with good quality crops as water and nutrients are supplied proportionately as required by the crop. The shade net roof used for all systems practised under Hydroponics method, also help growers to control pests and diseases.E Raja Kumar, agricultural financial analyst, ABCS says that the production levels between the open field and hydroponic cultivation cannot be compared.

`A farmer will be able to produce minimum of 50 million tonnes for every crop of capsicum per acre as against 8 million tonnes under the open field cultivation methods', he said. In the case of tomato and brinjal the yield would be 150 million tonnes and 28 million tonnes respectively under hydroponics compared to 20 and 10 million tonnes under the conventional methods. Farmers can cultivate two crops every year.

There will also be tremendous increase in the profitability levels. Growers will be able to break-even in less than three years. Though farmers will not be able to realise any profit in the first year, there would substantial increase in profits in the course of time. The normal life span of the unit is a minimum of 10 years before replacing the key components, Kumar said.

In India there is tremendous potential for growing vegetables such as tomato, capsicum, lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, herbs apart from cut flowers and medicinal and aromatic plants. And to help farmers in implementing advanced techniques of cultivation, the ABCS division of IOB offers extensive consultancy services in agriculture and allied activties, horticulture, agro-processing, post harvest technology. The services will include a feasibility study on the project, market survey and training for farmers on the pattern of cultivation.