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Goa’s first hi-tech vertical hydroponic farm run by an IT engineer
“Vertical hydroponic is the future of farming. It is high-tech farming hence ideal career choice for engineers because they possess the much required technology knowledge to operate this kind of farm! Hydroponics farms are easy to manage, doesn't require much labor, hassle free to control the environment variables like temperature, humidity, air circulation etc and no threats of pests, does not give stress to farmers on account of contamination through soil, water etc and no need to worry on weather fluctuations are the advantages of vertical hydroponic farm. Only disadvantage is that the initial setup cost is high,” says Mr. Ajay Naik, Founder, Letcetra Agritech.
Mr. Ajay Naik
Letcetra Agritech is located at Goa, India. The farm spreads across 150 sq mt area. Exotic vegetables grown in this vertical hydroponic farm are Romaine lettuce, lollo green, rocket, oakleaf, basil, jelapenos, cherry tomato, mustard green, marvel of four seasons lettuce, gemstone. As known, the hydroponic farm is highly capital intensive. “The initial investment is little high as compared to traditional farming but I am sure it can be recovered in 1.5 to 2 years,” he claims. It took 2.5 months to develop the entire farm infrastructure. “Our next plan is to grow other vegetables like zucchini, bell peppers, herbs, cucumbers, microgreens. We also want to grow strawberries.”
“There is not much innovation happening in agriculture to grow healthy food and many farmers are leaving farming because of the risks involved. Looking at this I decided to use my knowledge from IT industry to bring good agricultural technology to India to grow healthy food and then to train anyone who is looking to get into farming to grow healthy food. We have already started few Turnkey projects,” says Mr. Naik the drive to leave IT field and diversify his career to agriculture.
Prior to establishing his vertical hydroponic farm in Goa, he did a thorough study for 2 months starting from reading research papers on hydroponics to checking videos posted by hydroponics farmers and meeting PhD holders to better understand plants and the hydroponics technology. His key learning were, “I learnt about the needs of the plants, how hydroponics works, the economics of hydroponics farming, the risks involved and how to overcome them and the market research for my produce,” he shares. “We also did market research to find out the feasibility of hydroponics farming. After working for 18 hours every day, 2 months research and 2.5 months setup time, India's first hi-tech vertical hydroponics farm (commercial and fully indoor) was born.”
Hydroponics being soilless cultivation, different macronutrients and micronutrients are added in the water for the plant growth. It nullifies the requirement of crop rotation as the supplements are to be added in water for every crop. “We grow our vegetables from seeds. Entire process that is from seed to harvest, we control all the process and parameters. We maintain 24 degree Celsius temperature and less than 70% humidity. Same temperature and humidity is maintained 24 hours,” he elaborates on the planting process. To ensure the seeds are of good quality, “We are buying imported seeds from a trusted dealer in Pune yet we conduct necessary tests to ensure the quality of the seeds. We look for germination percentage, health of the plants, taste of the vegetable, texture etc.”
Speaking about threat of pest and diseases, Mr. Naik clarifies, “Ours is a complete indoor farm, so we do not face any pest issues. If still the pest issue arises, then we use preventive organic pesticides like neem oil.”
Green leafy vegetables are fastest growing veggie in hydroponic set up, “Most of the leafy greens are ready to harvest in 30-35 days,” highlight Mr. Naik. Selling price of vegetables is subject to change with the season. “We are selling our farm produce at almost same price as traditionally grown vegetables so that everyone can afford our good quality vegetables. We sell to retail customers through supermarkets and we also sell to different restaurants. We are also working on exporting our vegetables to international markets.”
The main challenge of the business is to find hydroponics technology experts and to source necessary raw materials. “Other than that there are always market risks!” he adds. In time to come Mr. Naik wants to introduce more and more agriculture technologies to effectively grow healthy food in India and help boost India's agriculture revenue.
He concludes, “Hydroponics is a very good farming technology. It is going to change the future of farming in India. With less labor, easy to manage farm, better yield and higher profits, it is attracting lot of people to get into this type of farming to produce good quality food. India will soon start feeding the world.”
Contact details:
Letcetra Agritech
Plot no 14, First Floor, Thivim Industrial Estate, Karaswada, Mapusa, Goa - 403507
Email: letcetra.agritech@gmail.com
“Vertical hydroponic is the future of farming. It is high-tech farming hence ideal career choice for engineers because they possess the much required technology knowledge to operate this kind of farm! Hydroponics farms are easy to manage, doesn't require much labor, hassle free to control the environment variables like temperature, humidity, air circulation etc and no threats of pests, does not give stress to farmers on account of contamination through soil, water etc and no need to worry on weather fluctuations are the advantages of vertical hydroponic farm. Only disadvantage is that the initial setup cost is high,” says Mr. Ajay Naik, Founder, Letcetra Agritech.
Mr. Ajay Naik
Letcetra Agritech is located at Goa, India. The farm spreads across 150 sq mt area. Exotic vegetables grown in this vertical hydroponic farm are Romaine lettuce, lollo green, rocket, oakleaf, basil, jelapenos, cherry tomato, mustard green, marvel of four seasons lettuce, gemstone. As known, the hydroponic farm is highly capital intensive. “The initial investment is little high as compared to traditional farming but I am sure it can be recovered in 1.5 to 2 years,” he claims. It took 2.5 months to develop the entire farm infrastructure. “Our next plan is to grow other vegetables like zucchini, bell peppers, herbs, cucumbers, microgreens. We also want to grow strawberries.”
“There is not much innovation happening in agriculture to grow healthy food and many farmers are leaving farming because of the risks involved. Looking at this I decided to use my knowledge from IT industry to bring good agricultural technology to India to grow healthy food and then to train anyone who is looking to get into farming to grow healthy food. We have already started few Turnkey projects,” says Mr. Naik the drive to leave IT field and diversify his career to agriculture.
Prior to establishing his vertical hydroponic farm in Goa, he did a thorough study for 2 months starting from reading research papers on hydroponics to checking videos posted by hydroponics farmers and meeting PhD holders to better understand plants and the hydroponics technology. His key learning were, “I learnt about the needs of the plants, how hydroponics works, the economics of hydroponics farming, the risks involved and how to overcome them and the market research for my produce,” he shares. “We also did market research to find out the feasibility of hydroponics farming. After working for 18 hours every day, 2 months research and 2.5 months setup time, India's first hi-tech vertical hydroponics farm (commercial and fully indoor) was born.”
Hydroponics being soilless cultivation, different macronutrients and micronutrients are added in the water for the plant growth. It nullifies the requirement of crop rotation as the supplements are to be added in water for every crop. “We grow our vegetables from seeds. Entire process that is from seed to harvest, we control all the process and parameters. We maintain 24 degree Celsius temperature and less than 70% humidity. Same temperature and humidity is maintained 24 hours,” he elaborates on the planting process. To ensure the seeds are of good quality, “We are buying imported seeds from a trusted dealer in Pune yet we conduct necessary tests to ensure the quality of the seeds. We look for germination percentage, health of the plants, taste of the vegetable, texture etc.”
Speaking about threat of pest and diseases, Mr. Naik clarifies, “Ours is a complete indoor farm, so we do not face any pest issues. If still the pest issue arises, then we use preventive organic pesticides like neem oil.”
Green leafy vegetables are fastest growing veggie in hydroponic set up, “Most of the leafy greens are ready to harvest in 30-35 days,” highlight Mr. Naik. Selling price of vegetables is subject to change with the season. “We are selling our farm produce at almost same price as traditionally grown vegetables so that everyone can afford our good quality vegetables. We sell to retail customers through supermarkets and we also sell to different restaurants. We are also working on exporting our vegetables to international markets.”
The main challenge of the business is to find hydroponics technology experts and to source necessary raw materials. “Other than that there are always market risks!” he adds. In time to come Mr. Naik wants to introduce more and more agriculture technologies to effectively grow healthy food in India and help boost India's agriculture revenue.
He concludes, “Hydroponics is a very good farming technology. It is going to change the future of farming in India. With less labor, easy to manage farm, better yield and higher profits, it is attracting lot of people to get into this type of farming to produce good quality food. India will soon start feeding the world.”
Contact details:
Letcetra Agritech
Plot no 14, First Floor, Thivim Industrial Estate, Karaswada, Mapusa, Goa - 403507
Email: letcetra.agritech@gmail.com