THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Farming isn’t easy. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be convenient.
This is the thought behind the smart farming system being developed by Gourish G Pillai, a 26-year-old engineer from Thiruvananthapuram.
The idea is ambitious: developing an automatic system that measures plant growth, identifies what minerals are lacking in the soil and supply them, maintains ideal pH levels and provides optimum sunlight and humidity for growth.
Having already grown tomatoes on a modest scale and currently growing palak under the project, Gourish is now working on a large-scale, fully automated plant growth ecosystem, one that utilises minimum space for maximum produce.
Gourish began work on the ambitious project through his startup Zelbytes incubated at Technology Business Incubator at Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, after joining there in 2020.
The project was recently incorporated in K-AgTech LaunchPad, a Rs 15-crore rural business incubator centre launched last year by College of Agriculture, Vellayani, under the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU), in collaboration with NABARD and Western Sydney University (WSU), Australia.
Envisioned as a complete growth ecosystem using Edge AI and IoT networks, the space is completely self-sustained, which can be monitored through an app developed by the firm, said Gourish.
“Initially, plants were cultivated through hydroponics, with non-coagulating nutrient substances kept in separate tanks. Though currently measured manually, work is on to automatically measure pH, dissolved solids and electrical conductivity of the medium in the project’s large-scale model.
Automatic facilities have already been provided to adjust temperature, humidity and light intensity. A camera monitors growth and identifies any pest attacks or plant diseases. Barring an emergency, one can ideally forget about the crop; the ecosystem will manage everything,” Gourish said.
Gourish had to walk a tough road to get where he is now. Having discontinued formal education after Class 12 in 2018, he shifted from Alappuzha to Kottayam with his mother to start a tuition centre and tide over personal and financial hardships.
However, the pandemic dealt a blow. In 2020, he attempted the KEAM entrance examination and got an allotment to Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, Thiruvananthapuram.
“While studying, I continued taking tuitions, did computer repairs, including chip-level repair, and even worked for food delivery apps until 3am for money,” said Gourish.
As a schoolboy, Gourish was an active farmer with two buffaloes. In college, he decided to use his IT skills in agriculture.
And while in his second year, he got ‘Zelbytes’ registered and started working towards his passion: agriculture. His work at the Barton Hill engineering college also won the ICAR’s ARISE grant of Rs 5 lakh in 2024.
