Now anyone can grow vegetables without soil in apartment or townhouse. The Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) is promoting the technology on Simple Nutrients Addition Program (SNAP) hydroponics in Metro Manila and various provinces in the country for wider adoption and utilization. This technology which is being promoted as a low-cost and pesticide-free vegetable farming system, has been featured in agriculture shows such as NBS's Mag-Agri Tayo and was highlighted in various exhibits, fora and symposia. SNAP hydroponics is an alternative system of growing plants without soil. It uses an inert medium and a nutrient solution containing essential elements needed by the plant to grow. The technology was developed by Dr. Primitivo Jose Santos and Dr. Eureka Teresa Ocampo of the University of the Philippines Los Ba?os (UPLB) under a project funded by BAR that is primarily designed for urban farming and backyard vegetable farming systems. This technology can be done in apartments or townhouses where a small space is available for growing crops for home consumption. A small space is easy to protect against rain and strong sunlight. Crops like lettuce, sweet pepper, cucumber, and celery are among the vegetables suitable for this farming system. In an interview, Santos said that SNAP hydroponics is more practical than the conventional farming system. Supplies are cheap and can be sourced out from recyclable materials. In fact, a single unit of SNAP hydroponics will cost only P38 at most, making it affordable and easy to set-up. In Pasay City, Eng. Rolando Londonio, head of the City's Cooperative Development Office (CDO ), tried SNAP hydroponics at home and saw that it is a good livelihood project. He incorporated the SNAP Hydroponics livelihood program in their two existing programs. In support to the programs, Londonio conducts training sessions in Pasay City on SNAP Hydroponics Systems, with the help of Santos, for the project beneficiaries.
