Business of Agriculture March April 2019 Edition | Page 10

FROM SMART WATER
PUMPS TO DRONES:
TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING INDIAN FARMS
By: Alok Kirloskar *
D
isruptive technologies and innovations in
application engineering are fast changing
farming practices in India. From preparing
the land to sowing to reaping and mentoring of the
crop, everything today can be done with the aid of
sophisticated technology-driven systems.
From preparing
the land to
sowing to
reaping and
mentoring
of the crop,
everything
today can be
done with
the aid of
sophisticated
technology-
driven systems
Irrigation also has become highly evolved with
sophisticated fluid management systems that are
well suited for meeting the challenges of bringing
fresh water to the farmer’s fields, irrespective of the
location, and providing him with complete control
over their available water resources.
These hi-tech pump systems are ensuring supply
of adequate and timely potable water to farms in
the recesses of the country, notwithstanding the
challenges such as: difficult terrains or steep gradients;
fluctuating or inadequate water pressure; water
sources with high impurities; high iron and chlorine
content; and unplanned irrigation leading to water
shortage and wastage.
On the other hand, precision agricultural technologies,
like the one being used in drones, is aiding farmers to
better plan and monitor their crops, to ensure greater
productivity. On the other, the most remarkable
factor about these new-generation farm technologies
is that they are completely indigenously engineered
and manufactured, hence affordable, widely available
and easily serviceable.
The Need for Hi-Tech Water
Management Solutions
use 2-4 times more water during a particular food
crop cycle as compared to China or Brazil. In fact,
as per the surveys, the agricultural sector uses up to
78 percent of fresh water available in the country, the
highest among other sectors.
While most farmers depend on rainwater for
cultivation – India has among the world’s largest areas
under non-irrigated (rain-fed) agriculture. The truth
is, nearly 65 percent of rainwater in India is not even
harvested and runs off into the sea.
Water scarcity is emerging as the greatest challenge
for the future of the human kind. Several reports
suggest that by 2050, in India the per capita availability
of water will decrease by 40-50 percent. The shortage
of clean and potable water is increasingly becoming a
reality sooner than later, such smart farm technology
solutions will enable the country to find better water
conservation solutions in their farms to deal with the
impending future crisis and also ensure better planning
of distribution of the available water resources.
Smart Pump Systems
Coming to the Rescue
India has developed its own world-class engineering
capabilities in water management systems by
leveraging disruptive technologies such as: Internet
of things; augmented reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR);
and 3D printing. These are the new-gen pumping
systems that are capable of meeting the diverse
challenges in the water supply to farms.
Wastage of unmonitored irrigation water is the
highest cost contributor for the farmer through the
crop production cycle. Further, water shortage and
water management challenges are so grave in India
that it has led to hundreds of farmer suicides over
the past few years. With depleting groundwater levels, today’s farmer
is facing the challenge of getting clean water from
bore-wells. The power supply in many villages is
irregular and still fluctuates, which makes it difficult
for the farmer to pump up water from deeper bore-
wells. Also, water so obtained is not clean and could
potentially damage crops.
The extent of mismanagement of irrigation resources
in India can be gauged from the fact that our farmers The new-gen pumps are equipped to function
normally even on low voltage. There are pumps that
10 Business of Agriculture | March-April 2019 • Vol. V • Issue 2