The Jamaica Hydroponics model offers food for thought

Deika Morrison, Business Writer

Just 15 minutes off the main road near Mandeville is the property where Richard Khouri turned a hobby into a business and, in the process, earned the Order of Distinction for "pioneering work in the field of hydroponic farming".

For Khouri, pioneering is in his DNA.

This son of the late Ken Khouri started his professional career in the family business, Federal Records, the first recording studio and record-pressing plant in Jamaica. And, 45s from that time bear his name as producer of some of the most famous Jamaican ska and rocksteady songs.

In fact, he is even credited with the creation of the musical form 'rocksteady'.

Back then, Khouri's hobby was photography. His hobby became his business when he started Colour World, which brought innovations such as the first photo studio in Jamaica to offer glamour photography and one-hour service. In time, his new hobby of backyard gardening evolved into a business when he began growing and exporting award-winning roses.

Market surveys led Khouri to replace the roses with Romaine lettuce, which were in strong demand and only available through imports. Pioneer that he is, Khouri designed his own hydroponic-farming facility, and in 1999, Jamaica Hydroponics Ltd was incorporated with Khouri as chairman and managing director.

Today, Jamaica Hydroponics Limited produces 11,000 pounds of Romaine lettuce every week from the 1.75 acres in production. Why not more? Currently, Jamaica Hydroponics supplies approximately 80 per cent of the Romaine lettuce market.

Having achieved near-market saturation, it is time to move on to other vegetables and fruits. There is ample space and potential with 46 acres available and a successful system. A visit to the farm will show the construction under way to put three acres into production for different forms of lettuce like iceberg, and greens such as cilantro, arugula, spinach, and the salad mixes, as well as an expected 400,000 to 500,000lb of tomato per acre per year, and 900,000lb of cantaloupe per acre per year.

What makes the system successful? With attention to every detail, this controlled but flexible environment completely caters to plants' needs of water, nutrients, light and temperature - and in just the right amounts.

Imagine the plight of lettuce grown in your average backyard or open farm. Every second of every day, that lettuce struggles to survive and expends its resources surviving in the face of too much wind, too much or too little water, being trampled and partially eaten.

Resources which are used to survive could have been converted into increased yield, but have been lost forever.

The controlled hydroponic environment provides plants with all the elements to grow, and do nothing else.

First, the temperate Mandeville climate reduces the need for the lettuce heads to waste resources trying to cool themselves.

Second, the greenhouses have high ceilings to maximise light and minimise heat.

Third, the rows of lettuce are on an incline in beds of Pearlite that are fed at equal intervals with nutrient-rich water. The incline ensures excess runoff, and the equal intervals ensure all plants are adequately fed.

And fourth, the nutrient-water system includes a dam for uninterrupted supply and a control system that ensures the correct balance of nutrients is always available. As a result, not only are the yields consistent but so is the appearance.

Harvesting process

Upon entering the greenhouse, one cannot help but be struck by how much all the lettuce heads look alike, in size, colour and crispness. But the production is only part of the success. Khouri insists that harvesting and post-harvesting are critical parts of the successful Jamaica Hydroponics system.

Lettuce is handled with sanitised, gloved hands - ever so delicately - to minimise damage. Special packaging, cold storage and transport are all employed to ensure that the customers - restaurants, fast-food chains, hotels and supermarkets - get what they expect in quantity and quality, whether the lettuce is delivered or collected.

The story of Jamaica Hydroponics Limited is as interesting as it is timely. For decades, this country has talked about the need to 'eat what we grow and grow what we eat'.

As food has not yet become optional, and the world is abuzz with concerns about escalating food prices, the need to produce locally has only become more urgent. And while there is no guarantee that local prices will be more competitive, the availability of local food provides a nation with welcome options in the face of escalating import prices that are beyond its control.

Complete import substitution is neither possible nor desirable, because there are just some food items we can never produce because of climate and scale. Yet, there are many that we can produce locally, like fruits and vegetables.

Jamaica Hydroponics has demonstrated that it is possible to overcome familiar challenges - exposure to the elements, praedial larceny, unpredictability of yield, unreliability of supplies and unattractiveness of offerings - that have prevented large-scale production of fruits and vegetables.

Further, the company has proved that consistent quantity and quality can be produced locally to satisfy local demand. To put this in context, just 1.75 acres of Jamaica Hydroponics' Romaine lettuce can provide sufficient lettuce for a salad a day, every day for a week, for 22,000 people, based on average consumption. That's food for thought.

Deika Morrison is managing director of Mdk Advisory & Consulting Limited, and creator of the newly launched 'Made in Jamaica Catalogue'. deika@jamaicacatalogue.com