The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
The old saying applies to Nachat Jatusripitak, the youngest son of Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak.
Mr Nachat, now only 16, wants to use his knowledge to help farmers with innovations. His ambition belies his age, but given his educational and work background, he may soon realise his dream.
Mr Nachat studies at Phillips Academy Andover, a prestigious boarding school in Massachusetts, where he has been president of the Andover aviation club since March 2018.
He led the assembly of quadcopters from 3D-printed and custom components, and co-led the assembly of kit planes and foam training planes. Mr Nachat also trained younger students in flying protocol via simulations and real demonstrations.
In March, he joined the Andover startup club, developing a website and hosting guest lectures for entrepreneurs interested in startups.
Mr Nachat's work experience includes interning at the National Nanotechnology Center in August 2018. Even as an intern, he developed micro-needles and nano-needles for use in cosmetics to improve chemical delivery to the skin.
He interned at Toyota Motor Thailand from June to July 2017, where he assisted the chairman of the board with weekly reviews of the production line and a revision of the company's after-sales strategy, which involved upscaling of markets to better compete with third-party manufacturers.
Mr Nachat registered his own company called Rice 2 Rice Co with the Business Development Department in early March to sell quality rice supplied by farmers with a good design and packaging to draw the younger generation.
He had noticed that existing packaging for rice looked cheap and commonplace. Mr Nachat says younger consumers prefer buying a small pack, just 750 grammes to 1 kg, rather than the large packed rice bags favoured by the older generation.
Starting out on his venture, he met a supplier of rice straw paper and was inspired to incorporate the material, traditionally used for art and decoration, in packaging.
"Rice 2 Rice uses eco-friendly rice straw paper, used for more than 2,000 years in Japan and China, as well as in northern Thailand, for packaging," he says. "It turns agricultural waste into a product that embodies design and gives back to nature while keeping in mind urban consumers' needs.
"My idea for Rice 2 Rice's packaging is not merely kind to nature, but also incorporates Zen philosophy in design."
As the next step for his venture, Rice 2 Rice is exhibiting at Thaifex, World of Food Asia 2019 from May 28 to June 1.
Mr Nachat is confident that the exhibition at Thaifex 2019 can boost the startup venture and that the innovative rice packaging will support Thai farmers with sales of organic rice, the best-seller among the new generation.
Rice 2 Rice exhibited at Natural Products Expo West in March. The exhibition was the world's largest healthy products event, showcasing new companies related to organic food and drinks and natural food and products.
Expo West 2019 took place in California at the Anaheim Convention Center North Halls & Anaheim Hilton from March 6 to 8, and at the Anaheim Convention Center Main Halls from March 7 to 9.
When asked what sparked his interest in solving agricultural problems using tech innovation at such a young age, Mr Nachat says he read an article about bacterial leaf blight disease in the Bangkok Post.
"While I initially thought about using drone imaging to track the spread of these epidemics affordably, I found myself limited by the constraints of camera technology," he says. "So I set my sights on tackling the issue of fertilisers. Farmers usually spray fertiliser manually, exposing them to a host of health issues."
When he visited Ban Chanote, Klong Yong-Lantakfa community enterprise in Nakhon Pathom's Nakhon Chaisi district, he saw that farmers prefer using traditional methods to spray fertiliser rather than drones, which are too expensive for them.
He then dreamed of developing affordable drones for farmers so that they can improve production.
"In developed countries, drones are used in many activities including farming, commerce and logistics," he says. "However, Thai farmers may feel that using drones is expensive. I have a dream to develop drones that are affordable for Thai farmers."
