KUALA PILAH, March 23 — Seeing the various types of fresh hydroponic vegetables at Aininaz Farm here and the view of the greenery in the area makes one feel like being in the Cameron Highlands.
The farm is located on Jalan Sungai Dua, Kampung Kuala Dioh here and what is unique about Aininaz Farm is that visitors go there not only to buy fresh vegetables, but also to get lessons on hydroponic farming from 24-year-old entrepreneur Nor Aine Jamaluddin.
The woman, a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Biodiversity Ecology, Universiti Malaya, ventured into hydroponic farming to develop her skills as a creative and competitive modern farmer.
“The idea to commercialise hydroponic plants came about when Aininaz Farm won the NS Fest community competition last year and encouragement from the agricultural officials for us to go commercial.
“I took the opportunity and applied for the incentive grant for graduates to venture into agriculture as my family has a piece of land that can be used for the purpose. I used the grant to build infrastructure for my hydroponic farming,” she told Bernama.
She said there were 1,500 different types of vegetables grown in the 50x15 square foot greenhouse.
They include mustard, kale, spinach and salad which are now in high demand in the market, she added.
Nor Aine said she is thankful to have a family that always supports her financially and in terms of manpower, in realising her dream of growing organic vegetables through hydroponics.
The youngest of five siblings said that despite getting a grant of RM10,000, her brother and sister also helped out financially in building the necessary infrastructure for the farm, including a drainage system.
Nor Aine said she started the hydroponic project in September last year and she had obtained RM5,000 in sales from her first crop.
Realising the problem of securing a fixed-income job, Nor Aine chose to be self-employed as she is confident in the potential of the hydroponic vegetable business.
“I also want to share my knowledge of Biodiversity Ecology with the community and encourage people to plant their own vegetables,” she said, adding that Aininaz Farm uses its own organic insecticides, which she formulated herself.
She is also planning to develop her greenhouse as an eco-tourism site considering that the 0.4 hectare area has the potential to be a beautiful camping site like in Cameron Highland. — Bernama
