L. Subba Rao is a resident of Bapatla in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. His aquaculture farms are located about 40 km from his village. One night in April 2010, the dissolved oxygen level in his farm could not be monitored and a change in the levels affected the farm adversely—leading to the death of all the fish in the pond. This resulted in a loss of Rs. 9 lakh.
This incident forced Raavi Sreeram, an electrical and electronics engineer, a close relative of Subba Rao, to find a solution to the problem being faced by many aqua farmers. He worked hard to find a solution using technology to make it easier for aquaculture farmers to monitor their farms. He built a prototype in May 2012 and used it first at his uncle’s farm.
“The solution I developed allows farmers to measure the water quality with respect to levels of dissolved oxygen and the PH level,” Sreeram, who established Eruvaka Technologies, told The Hindu . The device, Floating Sensor Buoy, is placed in the pond and has sensors measuring the various parameters required for maintaining a healthy environment for fish. Floating Sensor Buoy comes with cloud and mobile solution technology, which analyses water and biological conditions in shrimp ponds and alerts farmers immediately on their mobile phones. Every five minutes, farmers get a message on their cell phone on a real-time basis.
Mr. Sreeram approached the Agri-Business Incubation Program of International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), which incubated his innovation by mentoring, field testing, and facilitating financial assistance to kick-start his venture.
“Aquaculture has great potential in agribusinesses in India and this innovative device by Eruvaka can enhance the productivity and convenience of the shrimp and fish farmers,” says S.M. Karuppanchetty, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Agri Business.
The Agri-Business Incubation (ABI) Program of the Agribusiness and Innovation Platform (AIP) of ICRISAT builds start-ups and creates a conducive environment for new businesses to grow.
“Each start-up invested and accelerated by ABI-ICRISAT is guided, organised and connected to the start-up ecosystem for substantial growth. The key factor in the success of ABI-ICRISATs work is its pioneering incubator model. The model encompasses customised services and networking through its 30 co-business incubators in India and Africa,” says Kiran Sharma, CEO, AIP.
The product is currently being used by aqua farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
