Water Use Efficiency and Economic Evaluation of the Hydroponic versus Conventional Cultivation Systems for Green Fodder Production in Saudi Arabia

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 15; no. 1; p. 822
• Main Authors: Elmulthum, Nagat Ahmed, Zeineldin, Faisal Ibrahim, Al-Khateeb, Suliman Ali, Al-Barrak, Khalid Mohammed, Mohammed, Tagelsir Ahmed, Sattar, Muhammad Naeem, Mohmand, Akbar S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.01.2023
• Subjects: Agricultural economics; Agricultural systems; Agriculture; Analysis; Arid zones; Automation; Barley; Climate change; Comparative analysis; Corn; Cost benefit analysis; Cost control; Crop yield; Crops; Cultivation; Dairy farms; Desalination; Dry matter; Economic aspects; Economic development; Economic impact; Economic indicators; Economic research; Efficiency; Evaluation; Farming; Feeds; Fodder; Food; Grain cultivation; Harvesting; Hydroponics; Indicators; Irrigation; Irrigation efficiency; Livestock; Production costs; Profits; Rate of return; Saudi Arabia; Small-scale farming; Sustainability; Sustainable development; Water conservation; Water scarcity; Water use; Water use efficiency; Saudi Arabia
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su15010822

The current study is aimed to assess water use efficiency and evaluate economic viability of hydroponic and conventional production of barley green fodder by keeping in view the water scarcity challenges in Saudi Arabia. A hydroponic system and open field experimental plot was used to evaluate the water use efficiency for different irrigation regimes. Economic indicators for both production systems are estimated and compared to accomplish economic assessment. Estimated indicators include returns from inputs and net profit; benefit-cost ratio; break-even levels of prices, production, and yield; returns over variable cost; and returns on investment. Results indicated that the yield of barley green fodder produced under hydroponic conditions overtopped the yield under conventional cultivation. Under hydroponic and conventional conditions, WUE was decreased with increasing the harvesting date. However, WUE for the hydroponic technique was much higher than the conventional one. The returns and net profits supported the conventional cultivation methods, where lower dry matter content coupled with higher fixed and variable costs incurred by the hydroponic technique outweighed returns leading to economic loss. Cost-benefit ratios, returns over investment, and break-even prices and yield suggested that growing barley fodder under the hydroponic technique is economically not suitable for small-scale farming. However, regarding water conservation, hydroponic barley cultivation showed superiority over conventional field cultivation. Further research on the adoption of hydroponic fodder cultivation is highly recommended for water-scarce arid regions, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.