Friends farm without soil, win national award

BENGALURU: Four friends, working in different professions, decided to come together and follow a common passion for farming. Their city-based start-up K2 Farms has now made it to the Top 400 at Smart 50, a nationwide competition sponsored by IIM- Kolkata and government of India.

Located on Magadi Road, this eight-month-old startup does hydroponic farming. Founders Sachin S, Kishor S, Harish GR and Koushal S were working in different sectors such as automation, civil engineering and logistics management, when they decide about a start-up. Sachin says, “We wanted to try something new and shared a common interest in agriculture. Since we have a strong foundation in technology, we decided to use it in agriculture”.

They chose this method of farming inspired by Lt Cdr (retd) CV Prakash, Chief Visionary and Founder- the Institute of Simplified Hydroponics, Bengaluru. Sachin says, “Hydroponics is soilless farming using mineral nutrient solutions in a water solvent. The roots are supported by an inert medium, such as perlite or gravel. For nutrients,  we use various resources such as byproduct from fish waste, duck manure, or normal nutrients. The main crops we grow are mini cucumbers and mushrooms”.

They use is Internet of Things, to read and respond to the requirements of plants. Sachin, also an IoT consultant, claims that, by 2050, the Agricultural Internet of Things will increase food production by 70 per cent and feed up to 9.6 billion people.

Sensors in the farm track various parameters such as the weather or nutrient requirement or plants, and send that information into a mobile app and cloud platforms. “Through the phone, we can then monitor the farm,” says Kishor. Harish, a structural designer, says that hydroponics is right for a water-scarce city. “It uses less than one-tenth or one-fifth of the water used in soil cultivation.” He adds that this method reduces the need for farm equipment. “We are able to get 2.5 times higher yield when compared to conventional agriculture,” he says.

It has not been an easy ride. “We face new challenges every day. The major ones were arranging labour, managing and grading of produce and arranging capital when needed. Logistics remains one of the biggest challenges,” says Koushal, who takes care of logistics.