Introduction-

When one goes for Hydroponics Farming at a commercial scale, there are a few components of cost
that will remain fixed while there are others, that will vary depending upon the choice of tech and set-
up.

The Fixed Cost – The Outer Shell:

Before one even begins to set up the technology inside, the first cost that a commercial grower will
encounter will be towards setting up the outer structure. Within the outer structure, there will be
different choices with different cost implications.

The scope of this article does not cover in-depth detailing of these choices, still, for a layman’s
benefit, let’s examine the two parameters that impact the cost quickly.

Choice of Design:
Flat Roof Structure
This structure is usually used for a Net House. This costs low and allows for good air circulation (since
the covering net allows air to pass through). However, because of the net-based structure, it does not
provide protection against rain. Also because of the flat roof, debris (or let’s say snow during hail
storm) will accumulate on the roof and may damage the structure. Aerodynamically, it cannot
withstand heavy winds.

This shape is suggested for areas which receive low rainfall, no hailstorm, and wind speeds of less
than 100 km/ph.

Within the flat roof structure, one can go for pipe purlin (roof made out of GI pipes, just like the sides)
or Cable purlin (roof made out of GI cables, sides out of GI pipes).
Round/Dome Shaped Structure
This structure has a curved top design which helps in air circulation, the collection of rainwater, and
also sliding of debris or hail storm. This structure is costlier than the flat roof structure and is usually
covered using polycarbonate or other such non-permeable sheets.

Round Roof Greenhouse. Image Credits – WikiMedia

Choice of Outer Covering:

Shade Net
This is the cheapest option. As the name suggests, it is primarily used to provide shade to the
plants to protect them from the harsh sun. It comes in different qualities, different colors, and
different shade factors like 25%, 50%, 75% etc.
A good quality, UV stabilized, HDPE shade net should last for at least 3 years. This,
however, will not provide any protection against rain or insects. It provides limited protection
from wind and can tolerate heavy winds as it allows most of the pressure to pass through.
Also, since it allows for relatively free movement of wind, the temperature inside and outside
a shade net house do not differ much (unlike in a polyhouse where inside temperature is
much higher than outside). This provides a good and cheaper alternative in tropical and warm
regions.

Insect Net
An insect net costs almost 70% more than a shade net. It has tiny holes that do not allow
insects to pass through. A good quality insect net will be UV stabilized, made of HDPE
monofilament fiber to a size of 40/50 mesh.
One usual set of choice adopted by many a nursery owners and net house structures is to use
insect net on the sides and shade net on the top. This helps in keeping costs low and keeping
most of the insects out and also good temperature regulation owing to natural ventilation of
warm air through the shade net at the top. However, insects can still come in through the
shade net at the top surface.

CityGreen’s Urban Gardening Research Center – Notice that the top layer has a covering of
insect net + shade net
Another choice, though a little costly, but better for pest control, is to cover all sides and top
with an insect net, and then place the second layer of shade net on top of the insect net on the
roof. This is the design choice we adopted while creating CityGreen’s Urban Gardening
Research Centre at our office in Bangalore. One disadvantage of this design (in warm
climates) is relatively higher temperature inside the structure. Thnecessitatestes use of
foggers to bring the temperature down. The foggers also provide an ancillary benefit of
increasing the humidity in the arid and warm climate which helps the plants grow quicker and
healthier.
Plastic-based Materials
Poly Ethylene or PolyCarbonate or PVC or other plastic-based coverings are the material of
choice while creating a climate controlled greenhouse. Because of the plastic covering used,
they are generally referred to as poly houses.
A poly-house is the structure of choice in climatic zones that experience varied weather
conditions like extreme hot or cold or rains or hail storm etc. Within the poly-house, one can
go for temperature control through natural ventilation and exhaust fans or through a slightly
costlier cooling pad and fan system.
There are few other choices of structures and covering material too like A-frame, rigid frame,
glass etc. but we will not cover them as cost-benefit wise, they are not as reliable on a
commercial scale as the ones covered above.

Coming to cost for these structures, following are the ballpark estimates for setting up 1 acre
of GreenHouse at current prevailing market rates.

 Flat Roof Shade Net with Cable purlin (Wire Rope Net House) – 8 to 10 L
 Flat Roof Shade Net with Pipe Purlin – (Shade Net House) – 12 to 15 L
 Dome-shaped Poly house (naturally ventilated Poly House) – 25 to 30 L
 Dome-shaped Poly house with fan and pad cooling system (Climate Controlled Poly
House) – 45 to 50 L
Do note that the above prices are for an acre, the lower the area, the higher will be the cost
per sq M and vice versa. This is because the larger area will allow for amortization of fixed
costs, like that of labor and installation over a larger area, bringing the cost per sq M down.

Coming back to our analogy of the car, now that you have a fair idea of cost for outer
structure, you need to select the car that will suit your requirements. Do you just need to go
from point A to B in city traffic or will you mostly be doing off-roading? Are you ok with an
open jeep or do you need a state of art dual climate control system?

It is important that you make all those decisions to arrive at the optimal choice of outer
structure that fits your specific needs. And depending upon your needs and business plan, a
one-acre structure can set you off anywhere between 10 L to 50 L. That is the first investment
that you will need for setting up a 1 Acre Hydroponic farm.

In the next part of this article, we try to explore the cost of setting up an NFT Hydroponic
system inside the farm.
Hope this article will help you in gaining some clarity and business decision making. All the
best your plans, and

How much does it cost to set up a Hydroponic NFT Farm in 1 Acre in India
Last week, we had covered the cost for setting up an outer structure in 1 Acre and arrived at a
figure of between 10L to 50L depending upon the choice of structure. You can visit that
link here.
This was assuming that the project site is already leveled. In case, the project site is not
leveled, some expense will be incurred towards leveling of land too. Depending upon the
demand-supply gap, nature and extent of effort involved, this may set you back by 10k – 25k.
 Leveling of land using a JCB. Costed us 10k for 3 Acres
We recently got a 3 Acre site leveled for one of the projects we are developing in approx 10k
(cost was less since not much effort was required at the site). The above image is from that
site.

Now, let us look at the cost of setting up the grow structures.

Just like for outer structure, there are multiple choices one would encounter for grow
structures too. The choice of grow structure/technology that is used inside will be determined
by the choice of the crop that one wants to grow. If one is going for leafy greens, the popular
options would be NFT channels, DWC trays, or Vertical Towers. If one wants to go for
vegetable crops like cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, English cucumber etc, one should go for
structures with more depth and that provide more support to plant. Dutch or Bato buckets, or
growing channels, or grow bags would be ideal in this case. Let’s look at each of these one by
one. In today’s post, we will cover NFT channels.

NFT Channels:
NFT channels are usually made of food grade uPVC. They come in circular and rectangular
shape. there are many small rooftop kits for 20 – 30 – 60 plants that one can find online. For
commercial implementation, these would be costly. One should rather go for buying the pipes
in bulk and then custom fitting as per their requirements.
NFT Channels – The extra grow spaces in the top channel may help in the first few weeks
but will add to costs later
Tip – Do note that having a higher number of growing spaces is not always beneficial.
Different plants have different spacing requirements and that should be considered while
choosing the pipes. While choosing an NFT set-up, go by the length and not by the number of
holes. Extra unused holes will mean extra cost in covering those to prevent root zone and
nutrients from light exposure. This is a marketing trick used by most sellers to make you
calculate the cost per plant (4 vs 5 growing spaces per meter will make the cost appear 20%
cheaper at per plant level). Beware of such gimmicks.
Coming back to the scope of this article, the first step in determining the cost is to determine
the cost of NFT channels. Let us try to arrive at the same scientifically.

NFT Channel length for 1 Acre:

In order to get maximum yield, we will try to determine the maximum length of the NFT
channel that we can practically fit into 1 Acre.
1 Acre is approximately 4,046 sq M, or 43,560 sq Feet. If we assume a perfect square site,
that would be approx 63 M each edge. Some of this space will be occupied by boundary
spacing, nutrient tanks, control unit, and structure walls etc. For simplicity sake, let us
assume a usable area of 3,600 sq M (60×60).

Also, for simplicity sake, let us assume a bench type layout of NFT channels in a single
horizontal layer. In order to be able to tend to the plants, we should restrict the single bench
width to approx 1 m. Also, let us keep the spacing between 2 benches to be 1 m. This will
ensure sufficient walking/working space for a couple of workers/visitors between two
benches.

In such a set-up we can fit approximately 29-30 benches (leaving 0.5m to 1 m at each corner
and 1 m between consecutive grow areas).

Next step is to figure out the number of channels in each bench (or in each 1 M). While
deciding on this parameter, it is vital to understand the spacing needs and spread for the crop
you plan to grow. Each plant should get sufficient light and space to grow foliage. This
number would vary from crop to crop. Additionally, one would also need to take into account
the size of the NFT channel and the spacing across both, lateral as well as longitudinal
dimension. Covering science behind this is beyond the scope of this article. Let us work with
an average case number of 6 channels per bench (ideal case in specific crops may be + – 1).

Total numbers of channels we will use will be 174 (assuming 29 benches)

Next, let us figure out the length of the NFT channels required. Since each side is 60 meters,
that is the maximum length we can work with. Most of these pipes come in a standard length
of 4 m, so let us take that as the max length for each bench (by this we arrive at the bench
size of 1m x 4m). Following the logic above, we will keep a 1 m gap between 2 benches and
1 m gap at each corner.

Using the above logic, we can put a maximum of 12 pipes in a single row. With each pipe of
4 m length, this gives us a usable running length of 48 m.
Now that we have the number of channels and also the length of each channel. Multiplication
of these 2 will give us the length of NFT channels that will be needed for 1 Acre. This figure
is 174×48 = 8,352 meters.

NFT Structure cost for 1 Acre:

At this scale, the pipes may cost you between 200₹ and 250₹ per meter depending upon the
pipe specs. So, total cost towards NFT gulleys will be in a range of 17L to 21L.

Additionally, there would be costs towards net-pots or holding plugs, plumbing connections,
stand to support NFT channels, labor, and service charges of the experts that you will engage
in the installation. These all components may look small but when added in its entirety, can
easily set you back by another 10L.

Thus, overall an NFT channel based Hydroponic set-up in 1 Acre can cost approx 30 L for
the NFT structure set-up.
PN that:-

1. this does not include cost towards the outer structure that we had covered here.
2. this does not include the cost towards automation and nutrient supply system which we will
cover at a later date.
3. the above is an average case scenario, these will differ from cases to case and site to site.
4. in case you have some factual info from any running projects, please do share and we will be
happy to include it here (and correct any mistakes in our data) with due credits to you.
HappyFarming!

Turnkey Projects in Hydroponics

Hydroponic Agriculture Projects Now the cultivable and fertile soil is no more a constraint for Hydroponic gardening
supplies where the soil is not suitable on cultivation, hydroponics manufacturer is an idea to grow vegetables and fruits of
your choice in artificial growing media it offers exceptional levels of control over nutrients, light, water, temperature like
Coco peat, Per liter and vermiculite etc. Hydroponics is the process of growing plants that instead using soil, uses water, a
growing medium and nutrient solution and other environmental factors Such type of soil-less cultivation protected from soil
born diseases and pests the EC & pH of growing media also makes the root zone ideal for crop The grower with the best
hydroponic supplies will typically produce a Hydroponics specializes in offering premium hydroponic systems and parts to
help you maximize your garden’s output.

Protected Agriculture: Greenhouses & Shade houses

With increasing population and demand of food, modernization in agriculture is emerging as a productive trend in
agriculture. Government has taken good initiatives for promotion of technology in agriculture by subsidy & assistance
schemes with NHB & NHM.

Protected agriculture is now well recognized for its potential among progressive farmers. The advantages and benefits is now
well known to all growers. Corporate and entrepreneurs are also taking leads in large commercial projects with this
technology.

We offer turn-key solution for such kind of projects as desired by growers.

Hydroponic Cultivation
Now the cultivable and fertile soil is no more a constraint for hydroponic gardening supplies where the soil is not suitable
on cultivation, hydroponics manufacturer is an idea to grow vegetables and fruits of your choice in artificial growing
media it offers exceptional levels of control over nutrients, light, water, temperature like Coco peat, Per lite and vermiculite
etc. Hydroponics is the process of growing plants that instead using soil, uses water, a growing medium and nutrient solution
and other environmental factors Such type of soil-less cultivation protected from soil born diseases and pests the EC & pH of
growing media also makes the root zone ideal for crop The grower with the best hydroponic supplies will typically produce
a Hydroponics specializes in offering premium hydroponic systems and parts to help you maximize your garden’s output.