The hydroponics farm at Saba’s Rendez-Vous uses a lot less water to grow fresh produce compared to conventional farming. This way, Saba contributes to making use of water in a sustainable manner, a topic that received attention during the 2022 World Water Day on March 22.

“On March 22, we celebrated World Water Day on Saba in unison with the world,” stated Commissioner of Agriculture Rolando Wilson. “We are practicing good water resource management practices at the Gezondheid Farms indoor hydroponic farm operation which is in full swing.”

Conventional farming uses 27,154 gallons of water per day to irrigate one acre, explained Gezondheid Farms CEO Jim Garza. At the Gezondheid Farms Showroom Pilot Facility only 20% of that amount is used to grow the same yield of crop production on a floor space that is equal to one acre.

In addition, the hydroponics farm on Saba has the ability to capture back 50% of the water used indoors and recycle it for outdoor plant food supplements which can be use on the farm in the future mushroom farm enclosure. “Therefore, we have the ability to reduce our water use in half to only 10% of conventional outdoor soil farming practices,” said Garza.

As a small island in the Caribbean, Saba can make a difference in saving water, said Wilson and Garza “Let’s conserve our vital water resources to manage holistic agricultural growing practices every day, not just on World Water Day,” they said.

GIS Saba