Technologies to reduce burden of farmers, the cost of farming

Latest implements should be subsidised by government, say farmers

K. Srinivasa Rao and his team with atomiser for aerial spraying of pesticides at the AgriTech 2017 Summit in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.

The exhibition being organised as a part of the three-day AP AgTech 2017 Summit showcased a number of technologies and products that help reduce the burden of farmers and the cost of farming and also provides a platform to introduce smart farming.

With deaths of farmers reported owing to exposure to pesticides while spraying them, aerial spraying is one way of reducing the exposure besides saving costs and maximising the input use.

“An atomiser will prevent the human contact with harmful pesticides, saves 30% of the input and is 100% effective,” says K. Srinivasa Rao, CEO of Axpect Agri Technologies Limited in Vijayawada.

He says after a year’s research parts have been obtained from various countries and the atomiser is fabricated in Taiwan. The prototype is on display at the exhibition.

It costs ₹10 lakh and can cover 50 to 60 acres per day, he says. It plans to get more atomisers for commercial use. “We also expect some support from the Andhra Pradesh government,” he says.

Some of the platforms are aimed at providing support to small and marginal farmers. Farm producers’ organisations have been formed involving 40,000 farmers in Guntur, Krishna, Prakasam, Nellore, Chittoor, Kadapa, Warangal and Karimnagar districts and two pilot runs completed, says K. Mahadeva Reddy, Director of Khethinext, an integrated digital platform, developed by PALS Global Solutions.

The service-based mobile App advises the farmers right from buying of inputs to finding sellers and bringing everyone in agro ecosystem together, he says.

The Khetinext collaborates with the Microsoft for IT solutions, with ICRISAT to reach farmers in the country and abroad and the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad, a Government of Telangana initiative, for commercialsing the product.

Farmers are happy that so many technologies are coming to their aid. “But the technology-driven implements should be subsidised by the government,” says M. Ramana of Ampolu in Srikakulam district. Owing to 75% subsidy, many farmers were able to afford manually operated harvesting machines in his area, he said.