"You are what you eat," they say. And that's what Ajay Naik, a Goa-based hydroponic farmer, believes in. After quitting his job and giving up his company, this software engineer decided to help farmers across India learn about hydroponics and the use of technology in agriculture.
"You are what you eat," they say. And that's what Ajay Naik, a Goa-based hydroponic farmer, believes in. After quitting his job and giving up his company, this software engineer decided to help farmers across India learn about hydroponics and the use of technology in agriculture.
"For several years I have been noticing that many farmers' children prefer to go for an MBA or engineering degree these days instead of taking up farming. This is because agriculture is not always lucrative. But then, not many of us are focusing on the root of the system we live in – that is good quality food. Only when you have healthy food can you have a healthy country," says Ajay Naik, a Goa-based software engineer-turned hydroponic farmer. In times like these when the younger generation of farmers choose to opt for anything but agriculture, the case of Ajay would seem to be a paradox of sorts. The 32-year-old has turned to hydroponic farming in an attempt to grow quality food because a lot of vegetables and fruits supplied to markets today are grown using harmful chemicals that are detrimental to health.
He believes that the right use of technology can improve a field's produce but the problem is that Indian farmers are already struggling with finances and are reluctant to take risks "They fear that if their investment in technology does not work out, it may lead to huge losses," he says. Ajay wants to change the equation by taking technology to as many farmers as he can. And that is where hydroponics comes into the picture.
Read the entire article at The Better India