Two Brothers’ Fertigation Venture Highlights Youth Potential In Agriculture

KOTA BHARU, July 1 (Bernama) -- Driven by a deep passion for agriculture, two brothers have been commercially cultivating cucumbers and chillies through fertigation on their family land since 2024, proving that young people can turn farming into a sustainable source of income.

Alif Irfan Badrul Hisyam, 26, said his interest in agriculture was nurtured from school days, when he often helped his father tend crops in the backyard after classes and during holidays.

The second of seven siblings said his younger brother, Ahmad Alimi, 19, who was still in Form Four at the time, also joined in, enabling them to master the full crop cycle, from constructing farm structures and preparing irrigation systems to seed planting and harvesting.

“We learnt from our father and friends who are experienced in agriculture. We would go and see how they do it before trying it ourselves.

“At first, we built the plant structure using bamboo, but it was washed away by floods. We later replaced it with an iron structure at the end of 2025, which is stronger and more durable,” he told reporters when met at the farming site near Kampung Sri Kulim Melor here recently.

Alif Irfan said his family had spent almost RM20,000 on the fertigation project, in addition to assistance from the State Agriculture Department, which provided equipment including iron structures and water tanks to strengthen the crop system.

“Currently, the project uses about 1,500 polybags for crops, and we plan to increase this to up to 2,000 as there is still room for expansion.

“We chose the fertigation system because it is more practical, especially in reducing the risk of flood damage, and it is suitable for crops such as cucumbers, chillies and aubergine, with the polybags placed at about two and a half feet above ground level,” he said.

According to Alif Irfan, cucumbers take about a month to reach maturity and can be harvested continuously due to their fast daily growth, while chillies take about three months to mature but have a longer harvesting period.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Alimi said that despite challenges posed by weather, pests and fluctuating market prices, they remain enthusiastic about continuing the project, as they believe that with diligence, agriculture can be a profitable career.

He said they are targeting around two tonnes of cucumbers per crop season, with plans to further expand the venture.

-- BERNAMA