Summary

As a consequence of their insularity, the Canary Islands struggle to meet the green fodder supply requirements of their farmers. The vast majority of feed is imported, which means that the food is rarely fresh and that very few short distribution channels for this type of product exist on the islands. Two young farmers identified this market opportunity and decided to set up a hydroponic facility to produce high-quality, fresh green fodder for the local market.

Results

An 80 m2 hydroponic facility for the production of green fodder crop was constructed.

The production capacity of the facility is approximately 1000 kilograms of barley per day.

Green fodder with a high nutritional value has been produced. The production provides a continuous supply of green fodder to a farm with 300 goats and is also available on the local market.

The use of hydroponics allows for about 90% savings in water use compared to traditional systems.