“Resource crunch often makes people depressed, especially for small farmers like us who are used to it for decades. We often live in severe cash-strapped situations and learn to adjust or adapt; sometimes we just succumb to it,” says farmer Mr.Vikas Shinde from Jalgoan, Maharashtra, who developed a motor cycle operated water pump to irrigate his fields.
“The government just does not seem interested in encouraging farmers,” he says.
“The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) is a good example of how farming and food production can be greatly affected.
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“In the name of providing employment, labourers and several small farmers take up menial jobs such as deepening wells, canals, and laying roads: The result: there are no people left in the village to work in the fields,” he notes.
Future for innovation
“According to me, self innovation alone can sustain food production. While the government can remain indifferent to many of our problems, the local communities continue developing their own ways of dealing with it.”
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For two consecutive years, lack of rains and a depleting water table created severe financial problems for the farmer.
“A bore-well in my field did not help much as our area had no electricity connection. Lifting water posed a big problem for me. I wanted to somehow overcome the problem and decided to do something about it. Since I also owned a welding shop, I thought of designing a machine that could run without electricity. I had made a drilling machine before and thought it should not be a very difficult task for me. And the concept of a motorcycle operated water pump came to my mind.”
Mr. Vikas initially made some rough sketches of the device to be built and selected a few parts of machinery from scrap and started working on the details of the device.
Wheel, pulley concept
The device, based on the concept of wheel and pulley, is connected to a long pipe which serves as a container for collecting water from the well.
The machine derives its power from a motorcycle engine.
“I place my motorbike near the well on a wooden board connected to the pump device. Once kick started, the rear wheel starts rotating and moves the wheel and pulley arrangement assembled,” he adds.
Mechanism
This mechanism moves the pipe down into the well. Once the water is collected, the pipe moves upwards and lifts it.
Water from the pipe is then collected in a tank or directly taken to the fields by a network of pipes. The capacity of the pump is 50 litres and it takes about 10 minutes to complete one cycle.
“In an hour about 1,200 litres of water can be extracted through this pump. The fuel requirement is very less (for one litre, the machine works for 12 hours),” he says.
Mr. Vikas also designed a multipurpose farming vehicle for cutting grass, ploughing the soil and make markings in the field. He integrated parts of several motorcycles which he collected from scrap shops to develop this machine.
Two acres
“In one day, two acres of land can be ploughed and the machine requires only two litres of petrol. The same work if done by bullocks costs about Rs. 600 a day,” he explains.
For more details readers can contact Mr. Vikas Chaitram Shinde, Pingalvade PO. Nimbhora, Amalner taluk, Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, mobiles: 9422539430, 9423770375.