A family visit to Australia in 2011, was the beginning of Saten Prasad’s journey to hydroponic farm business. He went and learned the modern hydroponic form of farming and turned it into his business and passion.

He now owns a small-scale commercial hydroponic farm and operates from his residence in Raulago, Vunimoli in Labasa.

Mr Prasad was among the participants during the hydroponics training in Labasa last Friday, organised by Dialogue Fiji and funded by the European Union.

“I was not well versed with this form of nurturing plants and crops, but it sparked an interest in me to learn more about this technique,” he said.

The father-of-three faced a lot of hardships after retirement. Their house was partially destroyed by a fire.

He ventured into vegetable farming and was engaged in traditional soil-based farming. The 62-year-old did not stop here.

“From the observations I made on hydroponics farms in Australia, I began research work on understanding how the systems work, how beneficial it is and how it could thrive under unfavorable weather,” he said.

He currently nurtures 400 vegetable plants which he sells every Saturday at the Labasa Market.

“The good thing about hydroponic farming is the plant environment is controllable and the danger of pest infestation is reduced,” he stated.

The former technician at the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) in Labasa plans to expand his hydro farm on a larger commercial scale.

“I also do craft business on the side. I have a machine to produce coconut peat from its husk and this is a big business in Labasa as there are fewer supplies,” he said.

Hydroponic training to increase understanding Mr Prasad believed the training was beneficial for him as it added to the already existing knowledge he had equipped on hydroponics.

Course Instructor at the training, Madha Karan, also operates a large scale hydro farm in Makoi, Nasinu.

Feedback: sampras.anand@fijisun.com.fj