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Invents low cost hydroponic fodder growing unit
Fodder for the cattle is the most important area of focus for the dairy farmers. To buy it from the market is expensive while to grow it on own farmer requires land and labour, again a big hassle. The solution is hydroponically grown fodder. “Alas! The moment the word hydroponic is mentioned next thought is huge capital investment! And it is true as well because the hydroponic unit costs in lakh that is beyond the reach of farmers. Being a dairy farmer myself I could completely understand their concerns and worries. Therefore I decided to design and craft low-cost hydroponic fodder growing unit myself that is available at less than Rs. 1 lakh,” says, Mr. Nalamati Rama Rao.
Mr. Nalamati Rama Rao
Presently Mr. Rao is working as Senior Research Fellow at National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. He did his masters in Analytical Chemistry. In addition to his professional job, he also runs a dairy farm, Sri Hanuman Dairy Farm at his village in East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. There are 20 buffaloes in the farm. His first introduction to hydroponic was in the year 2012. Since then he dedicated himself to develop the low-cost hydroponic unit to grow fodder for dairy cattle. “It was after series of experiments I was successful in creating a practically feasible unit to grow nutritive fodder hydroponically for the cattle,” he says.
In the farm green house of 25x10 feet is constructed to grow fodder hydroponically. It is also used as demo for the visitors. To sell the hydroponic units commercially, “I started the company Kissan Bandhav Agritech Green Fodder Solutions. So far 80+ units have been installed all over the country,” he shares.
The fodder produced in the system is free from fungus. “Initially I faced many fungal infections in the fodder. Then I started researching on how to avoid fungus. After many attempts I was successful in making my own nutrient that is sprayed on the trays and seeds. It helped the seed to sprout and grow very well. It is working fine in different temperatures at different geographical locations across the country. I have applied for patent for this unique nutrient mix,” he elaborates. The seeds are grown in iron make trays (size- 3 feet long and 1.5 feet wide). Iron should be coated with primer and zinc solution then it doesn’t get rusted for 1-2years. Trays are kept in the racks.
First the seeds are soaked in the water for 24 hours. Next, the water is drained and seeds are kept in a tightly tied gunny bag for another 24 hours. Lastly it is transferred into trays for the roots and stem to develop. Only 10% sunlight is allowed. Once the seeds sprout, water is sprayed at regular time interval every 2 or 4 hours. “It is all done automatically with in-built sprinklers in the system. 2 litres water is needed for 1 kg fodder,” he says. “To begin, we keep 35 trays for 8 days then fodder is harvested. The trays are replaced every day. It is a continuous process where fodder is taken out and the trays are replaced with new seeds. Fodder has seeds, leaves, stem and roots also. We can say 0% is wastage!” 1kg of seeds yield 5-8 kgs fodder in 8days. Length of fodder is around 10-13 inches in peak summer at the 7day. During monsoon and winter season length reduces to 8-10inches. Beyond 8 days, the green fodder starts loosing the energy hence must be harvested.
10x10 feet space is sufficient to grow 50 kg fodder. The fodder unit costs Rs. 35,000 only including green house in Andhra Pradesh. Other states incur transportation cost extra. Apart from the capital investment, farmer needs approximately Rs. 4500 for seeds/month, power consumption is only 5-10 units/month, water required is 3000 litres/month and one man hour/day. Rest there is no maintenance cost.
When asked about the advantages of hydroponic fodder, he explains, “To grow fodder for 20 cattle in open cultivation I require 4 acres of farmland. Besides, 5 labours are needed to cut fodder grass working for 6 hours each. Conversely with hydroponic system the same fodder quantity is produced in 10x10 feet area and 8 man hours. It is a cost effective solution and high nutrition content in the fodder is another benefit.”
Mr. Rao’s hydroponic system is low cost solution than other commercial hydroponic units because the temperature and humidity are controlled with spraying system/fogging technology instead of an air conditioned unit. “6 varieties of millets, maize and horse gram seeds are used for growing fodder. These seeds need the stable temperature of 18 degrees that is possible to create with fogging technology,” he clarifies and adds, “If farmers want 15 kg fodder then he is advised to grow 13 kg maize and 2 kg horse gram. It is the perfect combination and complete food for the animal as one is cereal and other is grain.” Consequently milk yield is claimed to increase around 10-15% and even fat content rises around 5-10%. Hydroponic fodder is said to have 3 times more energy than the fodder grown on open field.
The only problem in hydroponic fodder is, “Less fibre! It is so because hydroponic fodder has 80-90% of moisture and 8-10% fibre. The protein content is 12-14%,” he highlights. Speaking of major milestones Mr. Rao says, “We have installed the largest unit in Vijayawada where fodder output is 1ton/day. The next projects coming up at various locations shall have 5 ton/day production capacity.”
Sharing future plans Mr. Rao concludes, “I want to install my low cost hydroponic systems throughout our nation. I would like every dairy farmer to enjoy its benefits and never worry about the feeding his cattle!”
Contact Details:
Kissan Bandhav Agritech Green Fodder Solutions
# 10-150/2, Chintalapudi Street, Yeditha, Mandapeta Mandal, East Godavari District – 533234, Andhra Pradesh, India
Phone: +91 8519990000
Email: ramannachowdary999999@gmail.com
Fodder for the cattle is the most important area of focus for the dairy farmers. To buy it from the market is expensive while to grow it on own farmer requires land and labour, again a big hassle. The solution is hydroponically grown fodder. “Alas! The moment the word hydroponic is mentioned next thought is huge capital investment! And it is true as well because the hydroponic unit costs in lakh that is beyond the reach of farmers. Being a dairy farmer myself I could completely understand their concerns and worries. Therefore I decided to design and craft low-cost hydroponic fodder growing unit myself that is available at less than Rs. 1 lakh,” says, Mr. Nalamati Rama Rao.
Mr. Nalamati Rama Rao
Presently Mr. Rao is working as Senior Research Fellow at National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. He did his masters in Analytical Chemistry. In addition to his professional job, he also runs a dairy farm, Sri Hanuman Dairy Farm at his village in East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh. There are 20 buffaloes in the farm. His first introduction to hydroponic was in the year 2012. Since then he dedicated himself to develop the low-cost hydroponic unit to grow fodder for dairy cattle. “It was after series of experiments I was successful in creating a practically feasible unit to grow nutritive fodder hydroponically for the cattle,” he says.
In the farm green house of 25x10 feet is constructed to grow fodder hydroponically. It is also used as demo for the visitors. To sell the hydroponic units commercially, “I started the company Kissan Bandhav Agritech Green Fodder Solutions. So far 80+ units have been installed all over the country,” he shares.
The fodder produced in the system is free from fungus. “Initially I faced many fungal infections in the fodder. Then I started researching on how to avoid fungus. After many attempts I was successful in making my own nutrient that is sprayed on the trays and seeds. It helped the seed to sprout and grow very well. It is working fine in different temperatures at different geographical locations across the country. I have applied for patent for this unique nutrient mix,” he elaborates. The seeds are grown in iron make trays (size- 3 feet long and 1.5 feet wide). Iron should be coated with primer and zinc solution then it doesn’t get rusted for 1-2years. Trays are kept in the racks.
First the seeds are soaked in the water for 24 hours. Next, the water is drained and seeds are kept in a tightly tied gunny bag for another 24 hours. Lastly it is transferred into trays for the roots and stem to develop. Only 10% sunlight is allowed. Once the seeds sprout, water is sprayed at regular time interval every 2 or 4 hours. “It is all done automatically with in-built sprinklers in the system. 2 litres water is needed for 1 kg fodder,” he says. “To begin, we keep 35 trays for 8 days then fodder is harvested. The trays are replaced every day. It is a continuous process where fodder is taken out and the trays are replaced with new seeds. Fodder has seeds, leaves, stem and roots also. We can say 0% is wastage!” 1kg of seeds yield 5-8 kgs fodder in 8days. Length of fodder is around 10-13 inches in peak summer at the 7day. During monsoon and winter season length reduces to 8-10inches. Beyond 8 days, the green fodder starts loosing the energy hence must be harvested.
10x10 feet space is sufficient to grow 50 kg fodder. The fodder unit costs Rs. 35,000 only including green house in Andhra Pradesh. Other states incur transportation cost extra. Apart from the capital investment, farmer needs approximately Rs. 4500 for seeds/month, power consumption is only 5-10 units/month, water required is 3000 litres/month and one man hour/day. Rest there is no maintenance cost.
When asked about the advantages of hydroponic fodder, he explains, “To grow fodder for 20 cattle in open cultivation I require 4 acres of farmland. Besides, 5 labours are needed to cut fodder grass working for 6 hours each. Conversely with hydroponic system the same fodder quantity is produced in 10x10 feet area and 8 man hours. It is a cost effective solution and high nutrition content in the fodder is another benefit.”
Mr. Rao’s hydroponic system is low cost solution than other commercial hydroponic units because the temperature and humidity are controlled with spraying system/fogging technology instead of an air conditioned unit. “6 varieties of millets, maize and horse gram seeds are used for growing fodder. These seeds need the stable temperature of 18 degrees that is possible to create with fogging technology,” he clarifies and adds, “If farmers want 15 kg fodder then he is advised to grow 13 kg maize and 2 kg horse gram. It is the perfect combination and complete food for the animal as one is cereal and other is grain.” Consequently milk yield is claimed to increase around 10-15% and even fat content rises around 5-10%. Hydroponic fodder is said to have 3 times more energy than the fodder grown on open field.
The only problem in hydroponic fodder is, “Less fibre! It is so because hydroponic fodder has 80-90% of moisture and 8-10% fibre. The protein content is 12-14%,” he highlights. Speaking of major milestones Mr. Rao says, “We have installed the largest unit in Vijayawada where fodder output is 1ton/day. The next projects coming up at various locations shall have 5 ton/day production capacity.”
Sharing future plans Mr. Rao concludes, “I want to install my low cost hydroponic systems throughout our nation. I would like every dairy farmer to enjoy its benefits and never worry about the feeding his cattle!”
Contact Details:
Kissan Bandhav Agritech Green Fodder Solutions
# 10-150/2, Chintalapudi Street, Yeditha, Mandapeta Mandal, East Godavari District – 533234, Andhra Pradesh, India
Phone: +91 8519990000
Email: ramannachowdary999999@gmail.com
