Solar Seed Drill cum Weeder by Bharatbhai Agrawat (Junagadh, Gujarat)
Problem Addressed: Manual method of seed planting, results in irregular seed placement, spacing inefficiencies, and drudgery for the farmer, limiting the area sown. A Seed Sowing Machine was designed and developed to improve planting efficiency and reduce the drudgery involved in the manual planting method.
Technology: Cycle weeder not only uproots the weeds between the crops but also breaks the crust and clods in the soil ensuring better soil aeration and water intake capacity. Cycle weeder is needed to reduce drudgery and increase the productivity of small farmers and laborers, particularly women laborers. It has two versions. One is a simple manual two-wheel seed drill, and another is solar powered which increases output even more.
Societal Impact: It is helpful for small and medium-scale farmers. It increases crop yield and improves fertilizer use efficiency by removing weeds better. The technology of drill was transferred to Kenya under a USAID project by Honey bee network, SRISTI and GIAN. Bharatbhai has done many more innovations following the footsteps of his illustrious father.
Current Status: Bharatbhai has already sold around 50 units of his innovative drill cum weeder. Bharat has a community fabrication lab supported by NIF. He makes many other farm implements, often on demand, and helps other fellow mechanics also.
(cross-posted to the GIAN blog.)
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