FROM SOFTWARE ENGINEER TO CHILLI FARMER

By Fadzlina Abu Bakar Sidek

TELUK INTAN, June 22 (Bernama) -- Finding joy in working the land while at home during the Movement Control Order (MCO) amid the COVID-19 pandemic four years ago, a software engineer decided to leave his comfortable job and embark on a new journey, a pivotal moment that led him to start a chilli farm using fertigation methods in his hometown.

It was a fruitful decision for A. Srinath, 29, who achieved success and lucrative returns, contributing in some measure to the nation's food security.

Srinath said he initially started small-scale fertigation chilli farming with his eldest brother near their parents' home in Changkat Jong during the MCO period.

A holder of a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from Universiti Tenaga Nasional, he said he planted 400 polybags of red chillies using the fertigation system and did not expect it to yield such results.

"After the work-from-home period ended, I returned to Subang Jaya, Selangor, to resume working in the office, but I found great enjoyment in being a farmer.

"I discussed with my parents about planting red chillies using the fertigation method on a larger scale, and decided to resign after three years of working as an engineer and returned here to grow chillies," he said when met by Bernama recently.

The second of three siblings, Srinath said he used his savings of around RM50,000 to buy fertigation system equipment such as polybags, pipes, and water pumps and build a storage facility to start the chilli farm.

Realising he lacked agricultural experience, Srinath attended courses organised by the Perak State Department of Agriculture and sought advice on topics like seedling germination, fertiliser and pesticide mixing and the fertigation system, including pumps and pipes.

He now rents a 0.68-hectare plot of land from an individual and has three workers to help him daily. They have planted 2,500 polybags of 'Kulai 461' red chillies.

Srinath can now breathe a sigh of relief as his hard work has paid off, with the farm generating an income of around RM40,000 to RM50,000 per season, with a yield of about five tonnes.

The red chillies are sold around the district, including at the Teluk Intan Central Market, supermarkets and grocery stores, as well as to wholesalers at the Selayang Wholesale Market in Selangor, with prices ranging from RM6 to RM11 per kg depending on the current market price.

He said that growing red chillies requires a lot of patience due to several challenges, including pest attacks such as red mites, thrips, whiteflies and diseases like mosaic virus.

"I enjoy and feel satisfied working on this fertigation chilli farm. I am also growing cucumbers on a small scale.

"I have long-term plans to expand this fertigation chilli farming on a larger scale, and of course, I want to continue this in my hometown here," he added.

According to the Facebook page of the Malaysian Department of Agriculture, fertigation is a planting method in which fertilisers are provided to the plants in the form of a solution and delivered to the root zone through a drip irrigation system.

-- BERNAMA