Hard work pays off for hydroponic producers

Growing up near the coast, cousins Rowan Delport and Juan Rabe were interested in aquaculture, so they decided to study biological sciences at Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha, Eastern Cape. However, during their first year at university, they got hooked on plant sciences and ended up doing their honours in plant physiology. As a result, they went into hydroponics instead. The decision was driven by their realisation that under-cover hydroponic crop farming required less land, implying lower debt levels to start with, than a conventional crop farm. “High farm prices make it near impossible for new entrants like us to buy a conventional farm and then make a living from it,” explains Rabe. To prepare for their venture, the two went to work on a hydroponic farm in Israel for three months to gain production experience.

They also did a lot of market research. “We asked numerous potential clients what they would be prepared to buy from us. Only two were willing to take a chance on us, but having two clients was better than being stuck with produce that had nowhere to go,” says Delport. To keep costs low, they started out producing herbs, leafy greens, and other vegetables on rented land, first using ‘scrap material’ to build their infrastructure and later renting infrastructure. They did all the work themselves and did not draw salaries for two years. “Every cent we made was reinvested in the business. We lived off our own produce and fish we caught in the sea,” says Rabe.

When the business outgrew the rental space, they bought a 2,5ha plot in Sardinia Bay. “My aunt, Cherine Smith, heard the owner wanted to sell a portion of the land, and it was perfect for us because it was near the space we rented, our biggest clients, and Gqeberha,” he adds. Buying the land was more difficult than they thought it would be. “We had a proven business model but struggled to secure financing for almost six months in the absence of credit records and collateral,” explains Rabe. While the huge responsibility of owning their own land gave them a few sleepless nights at first, it has proven to be one of the best decisions they have made so far. They have managed to grow and diversify their market to over 26 products sold to various restaurants, a retailer, and some middlemen.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, they started promoting their produce online and selling food boxes directly to families. “We sold our first leafy greens four months before the first COVID-19 lockdown. Where we initially only supplied restaurants, we switched to selling food boxes during the lockdown, covering over 100 000km in one year in our little white Yaris with which we did the deliveries,” says Rabe.

Financially, they are now able to draw salaries, they employ Delport’s wife, Chandre, to manage the business finances, and have three people working in their packhouse, three on the production side, and one to do deliveries. One to three casuals are also employed as needed.

Hydroponic production
Besides land, infrastructure is the biggest financial barrier to hydroponic production, with many new state-of-the-art systems costing millions of rands. The cousins kept costs low by buying two second-hand tunnels, covering a total area of 2 400m², for their own land. They also sourced second-hand insulated refrigeration panels to lower the cost of building their own packhouse. To boost farm income and fully exploit their space, they are also producing herbs, leafy greens and other vegetables on 1 500m² outside until they can save enough money to cover this area with tunnels.

“Farming outside is quite challenging for us, as there are so many more uncontrollables with which we have to deal, such as the soil and climate,” says Delport. Three hydroponic techniques are used on the farm: deep water culture, nutrient film technique (NFT), and gravel beds. With deep water culture, plants are suspended over a ‘shallow pool’ filled with a nutrient solution. The nutrient solution is aerated by an air pump to prevent a build-up of pathogens and the water from stagnating, according to Rabe. The cousins primarily produce lettuce in this production system. NFT is less energy intensive than deep water culture, as plants are suspended in an angled channel, in their case food-grade PVC pipes, that allows a small film of nutrient solution to run from one side of the channel to the other.

This helps with the aeration of the water. They produce leafy greens, herbs, and edible flowers in this system. With the gravel bed system, crops such as tomatoes, aubergines, squashes, pumpkins and peppers are planted in an inert growth medium and supplied with a nutrient solution via drippers. They use clay pebbles, called Leca, as a growth medium, because it can be reused and provides excellent capillary action qualities.

Water and nutrition
The run-off of all these systems is recirculated. “Theoretically, hydroponic systems use up to 90% less water than traditional production systems. We are not perfect. We lose a little water now and then due to leakages and evaporation if pools are not closed properly, but we are able to reuse most of the water,” says Delport. Gqeberha is located in a water-scarce region, so the cousins primarily use rainwater from March to October and have recently drilled a borehole to supplement the rainwater.

The rainwater is caught from the roofs of the tunnels and packhouse and stored in tanks and a 70 000ℓ dam. Along with the water in the tunnel reservoirs, they can save 120 000ℓ of water. They would like to get more tanks to increase their holding capacity to 500 000ℓ, which would give them enough water to take them through the whole year. The quality of the water is excellent, which means they don’t have to add any processes or chemicals to balance the water before it is used.

The real trick with hydroponic production is getting the nutrient solution recipes right. “An abundance of information is available online about the different hydroponic techniques, but getting the nutrient-solution recipes right requires a lot of trial and error, and fine-tuning,” says Delport.

A consultant could have been contracted to work out recipes for them, but this would have driven up costs and rendered them dependent on the consultant, who might have a personal interest in selling specific products.

“Our studies have been a great help in overcoming this barrier, as we developed a basic understanding of plant nutrients and learnt how to research information and read scientific papers,” says Delport.

They have different nutrient protocols for different plants, as well as the same plant in different production systems. These protocols are also adapted according to the stage of development of the plants and production seasons. Initially, they did a lot of leaf analysis to identify nutrient imbalances, but these days they only do daily water analysis to monitor the nutrient status of the water and guide the nutrient programme. “Many diseases and nutrient imbalances may result in similar symptoms. Over time, however, we have learnt to read the plants within the production context. For instance, magnesium deficiency usually develops during the change of seasons. When choosing a solution to fix the deficiency, other elements that might inhibit uptake are identified, which under our conditions usually is calcium,” explains Delport.

Pest and disease management
Where most hydroponic farmers regularly flush the hydroponic systems, the cousins only do so once a year. “Flushing every week would waste money, water and time. We continuously check and clean drippers in the system to address blockages, but thoroughly clean the systems once a year. We have been doing this without experiencing any problems with diseases that might spread from one plant to the others,” says Rabe. The cousins keep pests and diseases under control by employing good biosecurity practices and biological control agents, such as endopathogenic fungi and parasitic wasps. They also have 16 beehives, which will soon be increased to 40, for pollination purposes and to produce honey.

“The tunnels are closed, so it is difficult for pests to get into the systems. We sometimes see snails and beetles on the outsides of the tunnels, but these are eaten by our ducks, geese and chickens. Aside from buying biological control agents, we also place the eggs of beneficial insects inside the tunnels,” says Delport. A lot of money is also invested into organic products aimed at boosting plant health and rendering the plants more resistant to pests and diseases. “It is difficult to invest in preventative measures like we do, because you don’t see the benefit if you do it well. Failure, however, can ruin your business.”

Rabe adds that they do not have room for mistakes, as everything they produce has an allocated market. There is no wastage. Nevertheless, they have protocols in place in case a disease or pest outbreak occurs.

Plant material
The cousins grow their own seedlings. “Growing our own seedlings reduces costs and give us full control over the supply chain. Currently, we have 8 400 holes in which different salad types and varieties are grown, and we harvest 2 000 leafy greens per week. In the past, we sourced seedlings from other growers, but if the seedlings are late or of a poor quality, we are the ones who suffer financial losses,” says Rabe.

Over time they have experimented with many different varieties and have been able to identify the ones that work best under their conditions. Seed agents also often give them new seed samples to test.

“Mildew is quite a big production challenge in Gqeberha, so we stick with varieties that are more tolerant to mildew. Unfortunately, the yields of these varieties are lower than those that are not tolerant,” says Rabe.

Small seedlings are especially sensitive to nutrient and water imbalances. Rabe points out that mistakes can be expensive: “Too little water will hinder root development, which in turn will negatively influence plant growth and result in plants taking longer to be market ready. A big mistake may result in the loss of a whole batch of plants.” Rabe and Delport are trying to produce crops throughout the year and are close to achieving this goal. “Production under protection allows farmers to lengthen the production season and to shorten the time it takes to grow produce from seedlings until it is market ready. “Producing crops all year round the year would require heating. Using electricity to heat the tunnels is expensive and unreliable because of load-shedding, while the use of generators as backup would be an extravagance. We are looking at alternative energy systems, but it is not yet making financial sense for us,” says Rabe.

Recipe for success
The cousins registered and started using Green on the Hill as their brand name only a few months after supplying their first produce to the market to distinguish themselves from other suppliers.

However, they ascribe their success to five factors, the first being hard work. “Many people ask if they can come and work on the farm, with the idea of starting their own hydroponic businesses. Most of them don’t last a month,” says Delport. Secondly, they lead by example: “Hydroponics is a very intensive production system, so farmers cannot afford to be absent managers. You need to understand everything that is done on the farm to identify areas where efficiencies can be improved, and inspire your workers by working the hardest.

“When we started, we had to dig all the holes and do all the work ourselves. These days we delegate work, but keep a close eye to ensure the work is done properly. Our workers also know exactly what to do because we have showed them.” Thirdly, you need to be hands-on. Rabe explains that Delport’s father, Nico, made a huge contribution to their success: “Nico was a diesel electric specialist, and he taught us from a young age to be practical and hands-on. We have built all the infrastructure we use, except for our packhouse.” Fourthly, they focus on relationships. “Not only do you need to supply a high-quality product that is great value for money, but you also need to provide excellent customer service if you want to be a successful farmer. Some buyers can be unreasonable, but you need to see the bigger picture and try to accommodate them as best you can.”

Lastly, the business comes first in all decisions. “Juan and I make a great team because we have known each other since we were kids and complement one another when it comes to our strengths and weaknesses. “We also share the same vision for the business, so all our decisions are based on whether it would help the business to be more sustainable or not,” says Delport.

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