Empowering People With Disabilities: Designing An Innovative And Sustainable Hydroponics System

Abstract

Science has rendered its blessings to human kind in numerous ways. The sector of agriculture demands workers with great physical strength, rendering it difficult for the disabled to contribute productively. The solution lies in a hydroponic garden. A large variety of plants, such as tomatoes, lady’s finger, brinjal, chillies, several types of leafy vegetables, pineapples, etc. can be grown hydroponically. Combining sustainable technology and modern farming techniques opens up new big business opportunities. All it requires is a small piece of land and a few sensors to control and monitor the growth of plants, which could be done with very little physical effort. This will generate a supportive environment for PwDs, creating employment opportunities and enabling them to participate in mainstream economy of their nation. Smart farming, hydroponic gardening, with no soil and a controlled environment is rapidly becoming a favourite and has a promising market. The Indian hydroponic market is expected to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 13.53 per cent between 2020-2027, with the corresponding growth in the global market estimated at just half at ~6.8 percent. In addition, lab tests have shown that hydroponic produce is nutritionally either as good or even better than organic in many cases. The methodology involves using a microcontroller namely Arduino and simulating circuits using online software called Tinkercad. Arduino helps to keep track of physical parameters like temperature, electrical conductivity of water and distance of water surface from a reference point for a hydroponics system. All the physical parameters can be reflected on a computer screen and easily controlled and handled, even by people with disabilities. Use of technology in this manner can be applied for empowering workers with disabilities in field of agriculture.