Software engineer from Thiruvananthapuram wins State farm award for innovation in agriculture
The 2023 State Farm Awards in 41 categories were announced by Agriculture Minister P. Prasad on Wednesday
Santhosh Kumar S. with his wife Karthika and daughter Niranjana at their farm in Thiruvananthapuram.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
A techie who took up hydroponics ten years ago after attending a session on organic farming has won the 2023 State Farm Award for innovation in agriculture.
Santhosh Kumar S. of Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram, won the award for farm automation, something which he has tried out with success on his farm, a ten-cent plot where he grows vine-type tomato, mint and spinach. But it’s mainly tomato which is carefully grown in a 1,000 sq ft rain shelter.
Agriculture Minister P. Prasad announced the State Farm Awards in 41 categories here on Wednesday. Mr. Santhosh Kumar, who works as a user experience designer with a Technopark firm, never really expected to win in his category, but he is happy that the award would help raise awareness about cost-effective farm automation using open source software.
His farm is equipped with sensors and probes which record parameters such as temperature, humidity, light intensity and water temperature. The information is fed into a micro computer. For automating his farm, Mr. Santhosh Kumar used open source software and an easily configurable interface.
“I can remotely access all the information sitting at my home using a normal internet connection. Essential activities such as turning the sprinkler on and off will be done even without my intervention,” says the 42-year-old.
Farming being an activity that demands unwavering attention, being present at the farm was a major challenge that the software engineer faced. His farm is seven minutes away from his home at Kariavattom where he lives with his software engineer wife Karthika and daughter Niranjana K.S., a class VIII student.
Ten years ago, Mr. Santhosh Kumar had started off with hydroponics, the technique of growing plants in nutrient-enriched water rather than soil.
Mr. Santhosh Kumar does not have a farming background in his family, but his ancestral place in Neyyattinkara sat close to a field.
Santhosh Kumar, who lives at ‘Vyga,’ Kallampally Lane, Kariavattom, says his farm automation solution is suitable not just for hydroponics, but other farming methods as well.
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