HYDROPONIC & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Technology of Hydroponic

Hydroponic is a technology of growing plants using mineral nutrient solution instead of soil. It is the technology of enriching water by creating and maintaining a nutrient solution to ensure that plant is always in perfectly balance condition. This technology actually emphasizes the technique of how to provide enough mineral nutrients to the plant by not depending on soil. Naturally, plant depend on soil is because the soil contain mineral nutrients. In other word, plant actually needs the mineral nutrients, not the soil itself. The problem is, not all of the soil can provide enough mineral nutrients to the plant. Hydroponic is the best technology to change the old method that is using the soil for gardening or agriculture activity to the new method by using the technology of enriching water by creating and maintaining a nutrient solution to ensure the plant always getting enough nutrient to grow. This technology is more effective than using soil.

We are very familiar with the technique of agriculture base on soil. Two main problems of when we use the soil to plant are 1) not all of soil can provide what plant needs. Thus, the plant will not grow up well. 2) If we use soil, we need a large place and a person who has a limited space absolutely can’t do agriculture activity. By using hydroponic technology, that two problems can be solve. It is because hydroponic is not requiring a wide space for plant. Additionally, hydroponic is able to provide of what plant needs at any place regardless any condition. So, people can do agriculture activity by not worrying on the lake of soil and the limited space.

If the plant is growth by depending on soil, the plant expose with diseases and threat from microorganism and insect. It’s different with hydro phonic where the risk from diseases and threat from insect is minimized.

Soil can’t ensure the perfect balance condition of a plants and it will cause the slow of plant grow and mature. By hydro phonic technology, the perfect balance condition of plant growth is under control. Thus, the plant will grow and mature very fast.

Hydroponic also has an advance technology which is, it has an automatic system to control the condition of plant growth. This advance technology is to ensure the plant is always in perfectly balance condition. To support this technology, it requires an electrics power.

ADVANTAGE

1. Hydro phonic able to solve food crisis and contribute economic growth.

The main problem of agriculture is it facing a diminishing return. Land is very limited but the population growth over time as well as the demand of food. The introducing of the technology that don’t use soil to produce food likes hydroponic, is really needed to solve this problem. This technology will able to offset the diminishing return.

Nowadays, global has facing the food crisis where the quantity of supplied for food is less than the quantity of demanded in the market. In other word, global market is facing food scarcity. In this condition, the price of several foods will increase very high. Most of the countries are suffering because of the insufficient in supplying food in the market especially the country who depending on import food or the suitable is the net importer. It is because they have to import the food with the global market price which is very high cause the impact of this condition. Some of the factors of this crisis happen are world population growth, finance speculation, distorted global rice, and soil and productivity losses.

This crisis brings us in the situation of high inflation on food price. The impact of high inflation will make economy grow slightly.

For example, our country Malaysia is facing this problem of when we have to import some of the food from outside especially rice. Although we produce rice in domestic, it is still insufficient to cover the demand in the market. The alternative that we have taken is to import rice from outside likes Thailand and Vietnam. When the food crisis happen, we facing the problem which is we have to buy a rice from them in a high price and when the rice comes to the customer, the price become more higher. This is because we still depending on import the rice from outside with the price base on the market condition. But, if we are not depending on import, maybe we are able to avoid on paying the large of amount to import rice. On best way are we had to increase the production of rice in domestic to balance the demand and supply in the market by not depending on the import the rice from outside. Furthermore, the plentiful of the quantity of supplied in the market will bring the market price decrease. This is actually base on the law of supply which is the quantity of supplied and the price is a positive relationship. The increase of supply will decrease the price in the market.

How to increase the production of agriculture product in the short-term? By depending on soil to produce food, it is impossible for the agriculture sector to produce the plentiful of food in the short-term. Additionally, the method of using soil in producing food will bring agriculture to face diminishing return. John Stuart Mill thought that “Improvement in industry production would be offset by diminishing return in agriculture as the population continued to grow.” Refer to his thought; agriculture sector must change their method and technology in producing food by using the new technology that able to produce food more efficiently and effectively. The application of hydroponic is one of the best ways to produce the plentiful of food in the market. Hydroponic is able to produce a huge of quantity supplied of food. The serious action of application hydroponic technology in agriculture sector will contribute the stability condition in global food market. The scarcity of food must be stop as fast as possible because it can bring global in facing economy crisis by the impact of high inflation rate. The food scarcity will affect the decrease in standard of living and thus, economy depreciation. The economy growth also will grow slow. Compare to the old technology of agriculture which was using the soil, hydroponic can produce the quality output very fast. If we use soil, we have to wait in a long period to gain the output. It is base on how quality soil is. If soil contains enough nuetrien, we will get a quality of output. But if the soil contains less nuetrien, we will not get anything from the plant. It is contras with hydroponic, because hydroponic always provides enough nuetrien for the plant to growth. Thus, plant will not facing any problem to grow and it will produce a quality output in the short-term.

Hydroponic technology is able to produce food in a large amount of output to satisfy the demand in the market right now. Additionally, this technology doesn’t take a long time to produce food. Thus, agriculture may able to produce a plentiful of food to the market and it will solve the problem of food crisis. High inflation in the price of food will also decrease. When the inflation rate is low, the economy may grow rapidly.

2. Develop the developing agriculture industry and economic growth

Industry of agriculture is the basic industry in economic growth. It is because agriculture provides food for human to survive. Without food, human can’t do anything. When human can’t do anything, thus, economy doesn’t work well. In other word, economic growth needs human doing their character well. We can make a sense that, agriculture is a very important activity in the country. To develop the country, agriculture must do well first.

We can’t take for the granted to use the old method to develop the agriculture industry. The very beginning of agriculture, most of the technique that has been uses to develop the agriculture is the method where depending on labor force which is 100% manual technique. After that, that old method can’t bring agriculture go far, and for that, agriculture has change their method to develop the industry by using the new technique which has a technology element. That technology will make agriculture not depending so much to labor force to work the activity in agriculture. The method is like semi-manual. We are at this level in developing the agriculture. But, this method also can’t go far. Agriculture must develop rapidly so that it can support the economic growth.

The introducing of hydroponic actually the sign of the agriculture will have changes in their method to develop the industry. The hydroponic is the best technology to implement the activity of agriculture because the technology able to produce not just a large quantity of output, even, the high quality of output will also can produce. The ability to produce a quality output and ability to produce output in a large quantity of output will support the development in agriculture sector. The stability condition of agriculture growing will make the other industry get the benefit also because of the welfare in society. Sufficient food makes labor able to work well and they are able to support other production activity in other industry. Indirectly, this positive condition will contribute the rapid economic growth.

Apart from that, hydro phonic makes the country able to produce food in domestic. Every country is able to produce food. In the case of the country got a small land or huge land, through hydroponic, it doesn’t matter. It is because hydro phonic is 100% not depending on soil to produce food. Thus, it makes the country able to produce food domestically by not depending on the supply outside. The benefit of when we produce food by ourselves, we are not related on the global market price which is depend on the global market condition. If the global food market condition is bad, inflation of food price will occur. No matter how expensive the price of global food is, we wouldn’t get any bad impact of that because we didn’t buy food from outside. The plentiful food supplied in the domestic market will decrease the price of food. This condition will avoid the inflation of food happen. As we know, high inflation is not good to the economic growth.

3. Increase the standard of living

The standard of living and productivity contribute production and growth in economy. The high inflation rate will decrease the standard of living. The standard of living is closely related on real GDP. The increase in real GDP means the economy is growing. So, currently global is facing food crises and oil crises and it bring high inflation in economy. GDP in most of the countries is growing slightly. This condition, indicate that the economy growth is also move slightly. If the food crises can be solve by not taking a long time, the inflation will decrease. Thus, the economy will start to grow rapidly.

We already realize the ability of hydroponic to support agriculture in facing the global food crises. If the application of hydroponic technology success and contribute the development in agriculture industry, automatically agriculture is able to provide the plentiful of food to the market. We can make a sense that, the food crises will be solving soon. In this condition, the inflation of food price will also decrease time by time and the economy will continue grow. This positive impact will lastly contribute the increase in the standard of living to the society. The increase in standard of living indicates the welfare in the society as well.

DISADVANTAGE

Nowadays, global facing is two big crises which are food crisis and oil crisis. Both of it bring the high inflation in economy. In the condition of lacking economy, government is facing the budget deficit.

1. To generate hydro phonic technology in the industry of agriculture, it required a large amount of money to apply it. Most of the developing country maybe cannot provide enough budgets to bring the technology of hydro phonic into domestic agriculture industry. The transfer of this technology absolutely fails. The country got no choice but have to use the old method in agriculture activity. The question is how far the old method can support agriculture industry in facing the food crises.

2. Hydro phonic is including as a new high technology. The application of this technology is not only required a large amount of money, but it also required the labor who has a knowledge and expertise in generating hydro phonic technology. Without that kind of labor, hydro phonic is useless. To provide the labor with the high knowledge and expert in hydro phonic, it really takes a time.

CONCLUSION

Refer to what Thomas Malthus said in his theory of population:

“…..The law of population: Population, when unchecked, increases geometrically: subsistence (Food supply) increases at best only arithmetically. That is, population tend to increase at the rate of 1,2,4,8,16,32 and so on, whereas the rate of increase of subsistence (food supply) is best only 1,2,3,4,5,6…..”

Regarding to his statement, we can see that a huge difference between population and food growth. It is because of diminishing returns in agriculture due to a fixed supply of land and limited agriculture resources. We can say that the increase of population indicate the increase of demand in food supply. The huge difference between population and food growth as state above will occur if the agriculture granted to use the old technology by depending 100% on soil. But, most of the economists think that Malthus’s theory of population is cannot be use anymore because nowadays science and the technology advancement have made agriculture highly productive. Thus, agriculture industry cannot take for the granted to use the old and available technology to develop their industry. Agriculture has to use technology advancement to make sure their activity is doing efficient and effective. The main problem of agriculture is the diminishing return because it depends on land. As we know, land is limited. The additional input in production will not obtain the quantity of output as we aspects. Technology advancement has introduces the technology of hydro phonic and this technology is the best way to get away from the problem of diminishing return. It is because, hydro phonic don’t use soil. For every additional input in production will it will more outputs. This is what we call as catch-up effect. It very clear that the hydro phonic able to change the diminishing return in agriculture to catch-up effect in agriculture. We can make a sense that, the technology of hydro phonic can contribute the growth agriculture industry as well as economic growth.