A different kind of farm is taking root in Nigeria, one with no soil, no vast plots and, in some cases, no need to leave the safety of home. Soilless farming, which combines hydroponics and vertical growing in controlled environments, uses up to 90 per cent less water than conventional farming, eliminates the need for chemical pesticides and lets crops grow year-round, according to TriplePundit, which profiled a youth-led Soilless Farm Lab in Awowo where vegetables grow in stacked troughs filled with rice bran and sawdust.
Food Grown in Safety
In parts of the north, the technology is doing more than saving water. In Kubau, Kaduna State, a hydroponics facility lets women produce fresh vegetables within their compounds instead of walking for hours through terrain stalked by kidnappers, according to the Climate Technology Centre and Network. Because the crops grow in enclosed greenhouses using locally sourced coco peat and rice husk, with plants climbing strings to save space, they suffer fewer pests and need fewer chemicals, and by removing the need for large arable plots the systems reduce the land disputes that so often turn violent, the same report noted.
Cities Get in on It
Urban Nigeria is a natural fit. Hydroponics holds the dominant share of the country's vertical farming activity because it is relatively simple to run and well suited to leafy greens and herbs in tight city spaces such as warehouses, converted buildings and repurposed shipping containers, according to a market study by Nexdigm. Pioneers such as Fresh Direct Nigeria have used container farms to grow greens close to city consumers, cutting transport costs, while the Soilless Farm Lab has trained more than 10,000 young people in the method, according to Wikifarmer.
The Economics of Stacking Up
The numbers behind the method help explain the interest. Combining hydroponics with vertical stacking can produce many times more food per square metre than traditional farming while using far less water, with plants growing faster and cleaner, and small setups in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt are already supplying lettuce, spinach, tomatoes and herbs to restaurants and supermarkets, according to Green Agriculture Technology. Analysts say the model is scalable from backyard units to commercial farms and can be economically viable, with studies pointing to positive returns for both small and medium operations, according to AgroCentric, though high upfront costs and energy needs remain hurdles.
Fresh vegetables grown close to the cities that eat them can steady supply and trim the transport costs that inflate prices. FoodPrices Nigeria tracks verified retail prices for tomatoes, peppers and other produce across Lagos markets, where soil-free farming could eventually influence what shoppers pay.