Akbar starts his work every morning at his greenhouse in Ghor by checking the cucumber plants and monitoring the irrigation system. He says that becoming familiar with drip irrigation through a radio educational program changed the way he farms and encouraged him to use the method in his greenhouse.
Speaking about the irrigation system in his greenhouse, he says, “The method you see here is drip irrigation. We use a drip system because water drips slowly, like serum, drop by drop, onto the roots of the cucumber plants. That is why our crops grow well.”
Akbar, a resident of Ghor, says he first became familiar with drip irrigation last year while listening to the Rah-e Qarya educational program on Radio Salam Watandar. According to him, the program changed his perspective on farming and made him interested in greenhouse farming.
“When I heard the Rah-e Qarya program, I told myself that I would try drip irrigation once. When I activated the drip system and saw water dripping onto the roots of each cucumber plant, I realized that I had made a good decision,” he says.
Before he started using this method, much of the water was wasted through the traditional irrigation system, and soil moisture was uneven. Now, each plant receives the amount of water it needs. According to him, this method has helped the plants grow better and improved the quality of the crops.
“The advantage of the drip irrigation system is that it uses less water and helps keep the plants healthier. The agricultural medicine we use also reaches each cucumber plant through the drip system. Our customers are satisfied, and the cucumbers are fresh. We also have no waste,” he adds.
According to assessments by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), drip irrigation can reduce water consumption by 30 to 60 percent compared with traditional irrigation methods. By delivering water and nutrients directly to plant roots, it can also increase crop productivity and improve crop quality.
Akbar’s greenhouse was built using basic materials, including wood. However, he says that despite the limited facilities, the crop yield from his greenhouse is satisfactory. He now supplies about 100 to 120 kilograms of cucumbers to the local market each day.
He talks about the impact of this experience on his work and life, saying,
“I never thought that a radio program could bring about such a change in my work and life. In fact, when I look at my life now, I realize how much I have changed. I did not know that I could use a drip irrigation system in my greenhouse or how useful it could be. It saves water and also helps us use pesticides and other agricultural medicines properly.”
Akbar considers climate change, the spread of plant diseases, rising fertilizer prices, and the increasing cost of agricultural medicine among the main challenges facing him and other farmers. He calls on government officials, agricultural experts, and media outlets to provide more educational programs to raise farmers’ awareness.
He believes that if other farmers also adopt modern irrigation and greenhouse management methods, they can produce more crops while using less water. He says this is becoming increasingly important because of climate change and limited water resources.
Reporter: Sayed Maruf Sayedi
