For 50 years, Pritpal Singh’s family in Chandigarh had been cultivating wheat and paddy. But he was always intrigued by new ways to make farming more profitable.
He says that open land farming often suffers from soil-borne diseases such as fungal and bacterial infections, which affect crop yield.
So, Pritpal thought of eliminating soil as a medium altogether and turned to hydroponics—a method where crops are grown without soil!
He went on to turn his ancestral farm into a thriving business, with 25,000 green leafy plants such as lettuce and spinach flourishing in an 8,000-square-foot area.
Currently, he grows leafy greens hydroponically and harvests up to 800 kg of produce every month. “In leafy greens, the yield is almost five times greater compared to traditional land-based farming. That’s the beauty of hydroponics,” he shares.
Pritpal also grows bell peppers and seedless cucumbers in a naturally-ventilated polyhouse spanning 1.5 acres.
Annually, he harvests up to 90 tonnes of seedless cucumbers and 30 tonnes of bell peppers.
Overall, Pritpal says his annual income has increased by up to 1.5 times with vine crops and five times with leafy greens compared to traditional soil-based farming.
Gradually, he also incorporated solar power to bring down the operational costs by 80 percent. He installed 15 KW solar panels to run the hydroponics setup.
In 2020, Pritpal started ‘Farmcult’ to provide training to farmers on the benefits of hydroponic farming, including sustainability, water efficiency, and chemical-free produce. In the last three months alone, he has trained more than 100 people.