John Myers Jr., Agriculture Coordinator

Hopeton Singh feeling a cluster of ripe tomatoes growing in the hydroponic greenhouse on his farm in Middlesex, St. Elizabeth. - contributed photos

Agriculture in Jamaica is not considered an attractive investment instrument, but for this United States investor and his local business partner, they intend to make it big with the use of hydroponic technology.

While the technology is still relatively new to Jamaica, the farming duo of William Oberthier and Hopeton Singh are seeking to change the agricultural landscape with a multimillion-dollar hydroponic greenhouse they established on their farm in Middlesex, St. Elizabeth. The facility was built at an estimated cost of US$135,000 ($8.9 million).

With the hydroponic greenhouse, the pair has significantly increased vegetable production on their farm, which they supply to some of the leading hotels on the island. They have been able to produce vegetables -- mainly tomatoes that are of a high quality and consistency year-round under the Delightfully Jamaican brand. The technology-driven farm produces between 45,000 and 50,000 pounds of tomatoes per year. The traditional farm of similar size produces between 20,000 and 25,000 pounds of tomatoes per year.

Made good on the proposal

Mr. Oberthier, who has worked with Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola, explained that he was introduced to the idea of using hydroponics to grow agricultural produce in Jamaica by a friend and since then has made good on the proposal.

"This is new for me. My background is an investor. I spent a number of years with Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola, I was in the distribution business in Canada and have been involved in organic farming in the Dominican Republic," he told The Gleaner. "I did not set out to be in it, I just fell in love with the concept (hydroponics)," he said.

In a hydroponic greenhouse plants are grown without the use of soil in an enclosed structure usually covered with plastic or glass. Water and nutrients are fed to the roots of the plants directly. The farm in St. Elizabeth uses computer to control temperature and humidity as well as irrigation cycles completed with a nutrient injection system, which distributes nutrients in the right quantities to the plants. "We have complete control over every single thing that goes on in the greenhouse," said Mr. Singh.

State-of-the-art project

Using hydroponic technology is also a first for Mr. Singh. "I have done papayas for export before, but hydroponics is relatively new to the island and we have the first state-of-the-art project," the 36-year-old farmer said proudly.

Initially, Mr. Oberthier said there was a concern that the heat of the tropics would have stymied the project's feasibility. But with the input of his local business partner, who is the director of farm operations, and the technical support from their suppliers overseas, the problem was soon resolved with the installation of ventilation fans.

He explained that the seeds from which the tomatoes are produced come from hybrid varieties that are specially designed to withstand the tropical heat.

"We started out small - most people in this business get in trouble because they start out too big - we want to make sure we could do it and do it right," he noted. The first crop was impressive, he recalled and said the customers were most impressed with the product.

Phenomenal yields

"Nobody thought this could be done (because) we are close to sea level and we are making phenomenal yields," explained Mr. Singh.

Mr. Oberthier said there are plans to increase the square footage of the greenhouse from 5,600 to 9,000. "Our objective is to supply all the tomato needs of our existing customers and from that we (would) gradually offer specially produced items (cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, baby cucumbers, etc.) that are not available locally," he said.

"We are very happy with what we have accomplished so far. We've learned and we are getting better with each crop," Mr. Oberthier assured. The farmers said they were also willing to teach the technology to any interested farmer or group.