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