Thanks to urbanization, the acute shortage of helping hands in villages to undertake work like weeding impacts the standing crops adversely, if not attended in time. Erstwhile methods of cultivation using cattle is no longer possible as the maintenance of oxen is a costly proposition. With lack of suitable equipment, farmers continue to suffer.
Mahipal Chary from Warangal district provided an alternative by developing a cultivator which can be used by farmers in fields with some moisture. The machine is mounted with 4 hp engine. Its width is 22 inches. This enables the farmer to use this cultivator in crops whose row distance is more than 22 inches. An accelerator is provided in the left hand grip and the machine is maneuvered by both hands with the handle provided, as can be seen in the picture above. An average farmer can cultivate 3-4 acres per say with this machine. Diesel requirement is one litre/acre.
On demand from farmers, Mahipal made a version with 5 hp engine which can be used for light ploughing in the fruit gardens and other such farms.
The price of this machine is Rs 35000, which is quite cheap considering the work it is capable of doing.
Marginal farmers could easily use this to cultivate their farm fields to grow cotton, green chilly and various other fruits.
Apart from cultivation, this can also be used to draw water from the well and other farm related activities.
For his work, Mahipal has also won a prize at the 8th National Grassroots Innovations and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards!
If you wish to purchase this machine, you can write to president@pallesrujana.org
Chai Bisket, meanwhile, will always support grassroots innovations like these!


