Indian Hydroponics India

This interview details Indian Hydroponics, an indoor farming company based in India. The interview is with Ashutosh Thapliyal, COO & Senior Agronomist of Indian Hydroponics.

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What is the origin story of Indian Hydroponics?

Ind Hydro by Agri Joy was born out of a desire to educate and dispel the myths surrounding hydroponics within our community. Drawing inspiration from American hydroponics or Am Hydro we set out to create a platform for growers and service providers, uniting and aggregating the community in 2020. Over time, we transformed into India's premier end-to-end hydroponics solutions provider, solidifying our position as a pioneer in the field. Our journey began with a passion for hydroponics and a mission to share our knowledge with the world.

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What are some of the biggest challenges facing Indian Hydroponics in the future? 

The biggest challenge for us to overcome is that of making Next Gen Agricultural practises more affordable and accessible for all. Hydroponics/ Vertical Farming must never be tagged as Luxury Agriculture is what we are working on. The second is to bring transparency in every step of the Food Supply Chain. Consumers must become aware of the food source and how it was grown and what good practices were involved in growing their food. The transparency and accountabilities in our food system is required more than ever!

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What is unique about Indian Hydroponics compared to competitors? 

The most unique aspect of Ind Hydro by Agri Joy is our End to End support, comprehensive Agronomy and growing assistance. Our after sales hand holding ensures our growers achieve what we term as "More than optimal yields". Our frugal approach to achieve more from less without compromising quality and our tight SOPs at farms helps the grower achieve good returns.

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What is the current size of your growing area?

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We have worked across 13+ States in India in the last 30 months alone and are expanding and venturing to new markets. We are excited about the prospect of growth and friendly Government policies in regions like the Middle East and APAC. The road to resolve the Climate Change issue and achieve sustainability goes through Agriculture. Pandemic has awakened economies to become self reliant on food production that too via sustainable methods.

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Do you use CO2 in your operation today -- if so, how much and what do you pay for it? What are your thoughts in CO2 usage in indoor farms? 

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We haven't yet worked with CO2 installations in our commercial outdoor farms in India but we have certainly worked and installed R&D units enabled with CO2 cylinders. We believe CO2 is an essential component to complete the photosynthesis cycle for plants and it certainly boosts growth. It becomes essential in commercial scale indoor vertical farms and must be accounted for while planning a farm.

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Energy is a big topic in indoor farming right now. How much do you pay for electricity (kWh)? Is it mainly from the grid or renewables?

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In India, people are still largely dependent on the grid to power their farms. However, since recently we have seen an increased interest in combining Renewables to power smart farms such as Hydroponics. I believe Subsidies and financial assistance from the government is fueling this at large with an increased awareness to adoption of renewables. More to that, consumption of Electricity for Agriculture is by default Subsidised by most State Governments in India. In other parts too, people are getting more and more aware and adaptive to combine renewables for farming. We at Ind Hydro are working to efficiently integrate solar modules for pumps and cooling components!

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How do you measure the impact of Indian Hydroponics so far? (Revenue, Employees, Customer Quantity, Production Volume) etc? 

Measuring the impact of Indian Hydroponics can be done through various metrics. Revenue generated from hydroponic farms and related products can provide insights into the economic impact. The number of employees engaged in the hydroponics sector indicates the employment opportunities created as 20+ team members work.

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Additionally, tracking the number of customers adopting hydroponics, the expansion of hydroponic farms till now 15,00,000 sq. ft farms all over India with the presence of 14 states including UTs, and the overall production volume of crops can help gauge the extent of the impact.

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What have you learned that you wish you knew when you joined or started the company? 

It is always beneficial to have a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the industry, as well as knowledge about the target market and potential customers. Building a robust network and seeking guidance from experienced professionals can also be invaluable.

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How can people connect with you or learn more about Indian Hydroponics?

We are very much active and responsive over platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. We are also on major podcasting platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. We are getting on YouTube and Twitter but we ensure a quick response over mails, DMs and Website form submissions!

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Links to our socials:

Instagram: www.instagram.com/indian.hydroponics

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/indhydroponics/

‍Website: www.agrijoy.in

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‍Email: info@agrijoy.in

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