Agritech startups: Think beyond organic, think hydroponics

The Pelican had just begun to take off when Cyclone Fani struck the eastern coast of India in 2019. Haraprasad Mohapatra, a retired master mariner from Teisipur in Odisha, had started Pelican Aeroponic Farms just a year ago to grow exotic vegetables such as lettuce, kale, basil, cherry tomatoes and jalapenos.

Gusty winds and rains breached Pelican’s ‘poly houses’ (a type of greenhouse with specialised polythene sheet covering), and the ‘grow towers’ were left in a complete disarray. Mohapatra’s farm measures just 700 square metres, but it can hold nearly 4,000 plants and grow up to 100 kg of vegetables a day. Small landholding had prompted the one-time seafarer to try aeroponics—with ‘grow towers’ that enabled him to grow the crop vertically.