Now you can grow vegetables in a darkened room
Various new vegetable farming models like this one are being displayed at the three-day vegetable fair that began in the capital on Friday
Now one can produce vegetables inside a windowless building, where the sun never shines and where rainfall is irrelevant.
The perfect crop field could even be inside a high-rise building in Dhaka.
As alternatives to sunlight and rainwater, a farmer will have to install LED lights and pipes to illuminate the room and to spray water on the plants.
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To switch on and switch off the lights, and to spray water, the presence of a human being is also not necessary. These activities can be controlled through a mobile phone app.
This new technology of farming has been introduced in Bangladesh by HEM Khairul Mazed, scientific officer at the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI). Khairul showcased the technology at a vegetable fair being held at the Krishibid Institute in the capital.
At the fair, Khairul demonstrated the new farming model with a specially designed steel structure having four horizontal shelves.
On the uppermost shelf, he has grown red amaranth. On the second, third and fourth shelves, he has grown spinach, strawberry, and lettuce respectively.
To make a similar structure like the one showcased in the fair, which is 6 feet high and 3 feet wide, one will have to spend Tk12,000 to Tk15,000, he said.
"One can make a larger structure if they wish, but the cost will go up in that case," Khairul added.
Khairul has used coco dust, one type of fertilizer made from coir, in place of the conventionally used fertilizers.
"If one uses coco dust once, one will be able to produce vegetables with it for two years," he said.
After two years, one will have to use it again, Khairul added.
"This technology is designed for closed places," he said, adding, "No pesticides or insecticides are used here so the vegetables in this method are also safe for health."
He said that since the amount of arable land is shrinking at a rapid pace, producing more crops in limited land using new technologies has become a big challenge.
This idea has prompted me to make this invention, he added.
In the three-day fair that began on Friday, agriculturists and innovators have been displaying various kinds of new models of vegetable farming like this one.
Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque inaugurated the fair titled "Safe vegetable farming for nutrition and good health."
Planning Minister MA Mannan, among others, also attended the opening ceremony.
