Crop Protection Advancement: Minimizing Herbicide Spray Drift

The herbicide applicator, designed to draw crops inside a protective hood while spraying herbicides outside, marks a groundbreaking advancement in crop protection techniques. By precisely directing herbicides at weeds while safeguarding crops within the protective hood, the apparatus minimizes herbicide spray drift, thereby mitigating the risk of phytotoxicity-induced crop damage.

Enhancing Farming Efficiency: Minimizing Crop Damage

Farmers employing pre- and post-emergence herbicides stand to benefit significantly from this innovative solution. By providing a means to control weed plants with minimal crop damage, the herbicide applicator offers a practical and efficient approach to weed management in agricultural settings. The incorporation of protective hoods ensures that crops remain shielded from potentially harmful herbicide spray droplets, thus safeguarding their health and vitality.

Research and Development Success: Collaborative Efforts

The development of the herbicide applicator is the culmination of extensive research conducted by a team of dedicated scientists and post-graduate scholars. Led by scientists Sheeja K. Raj, Jacob D., and Shalini Pillai P, along with scholars Dhanu Unnikrishnan, Anitrosa Innozent, Krishnasree Radhakrishnan, and Seethal Rose Chacko, the project exemplifies the collaborative spirit and innovative prowess of KAU’s Agronomy Department.

Practical Implementation: Addressing Real-World Challenges

The practicality and effectiveness of the herbicide applicator lie in its ability to address real-world challenges faced by farmers. By combining cutting-edge technology with agricultural expertise, KAU has devised a solution that not only enhances farming efficiency but also promotes sustainable agricultural practices. The utilization of protective hoods ensures that herbicides are applied precisely, targeting weeds while minimizing the risk of unintended crop damage.

Future Prospects: Advancing Agricultural Innovation

The patent grant for the herbicide applicator underscores KAU’s commitment to advancing agricultural innovation and supporting the needs of farmers. As the agricultural landscape continues to evolve, solutions like the herbicide applicator pave the way for enhanced productivity, profitability, and sustainability in farming practices. With ongoing research and development efforts, KAU remains at the forefront of agricultural innovation, driving positive change in the sector.

The World Environment Day 2022 calls for living sustainably in harmony with nature, where efficient use of resources leads to development. At the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), researchers have taken this as a challenge and come up with many solutions. One very interesting such solution is the potential of the proliferating water hyacinth weeds and how this waste can be transformed into wealth. ICRISAT scientists are working towards developing digital tools and techniques to monitor this weed using satellite data thus, facilitating efficient utilisation of water hyacinth biomass.

The scope of digital intervention to utilise the floating weed became evident during the Odisha Livelihood Mission project. This led to the harvesting of water hyacinth plants and the biomass produced was used to make high-quality compost by mixing it with paddy straw and cow dung. This simple technique helped local women to become self-reliant by turning simple waste into wealth.

Dr Aviraj Datta, Scientist, ICRISAT Development Center said, “Utilisation of water hyacinth biomass through aerobic composting technique has potential for wide-scale adoption and impact. There are more than 2000 water hyacinth-infested water bodies in Puri district of Odisha alone. Scaling-up of such interventions is possible even for large-scale infested water bodies such as Lake Victoria in Africa, which has an approximate water surface area of 59,947 square kilometers.” But efficient utilisation of water hyacinth biomass on such a large scale requires on-ground data. Digital tools have the potential to assess details about the biomass quantity expected during different seasons on a large water body on a real-time basis.

ICRISAT, Hyderabad, India, and its partners: University of Stirling, Scotland; University of Strathclyde, Scotland; National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM), Hyderabad, India; Sanatana Dharma College (SDC), Alappuzha, Kerala, India and CSIR-Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO) Chandigarh, India are working on the project ‘Weed Watch’ to develop digital tools which would enable real-time monitoring of water hyacinth mat using freely available multi-spectral satellite data such as Sentinel-1 or Sentinel-2.

For setting up a large-scale processing unit for water hyacinth biomass, it is important to forecast the temporal and spatial availability of water hyacinth biomass for a large water body such as Lake Tana in Ethiopia throughout the year. Digital techniques would greatly enhance our present capabilities in this regard through identifying the appropriate location of such processing unit, the scale of operation, and storage requirements. The commercialisation of water hyacinth biomass can also boost alternative livelihood opportunities and can be used to create a wide range of products and art crafts. Sanatana Dharma College (SDC), Alappuzha, Kerala, India, has successfully incubated a few startups.

Dr. Srikanth Rupavatharam, Senior Scientist, Digital Agriculture, ICRISAT said, “The potential use of AI tools and data captured via drones, satellites, and MPro app developed by ICRISAT ensure optimum use of water hyacinth biomass. It will provide a better understanding of the impact of water quality on water hyacinth weeds infestation and estimation of the growth rate and nature of the mat.”

“The combination of known science of composting and cutting-edge AI-based tools aims to turn the challenge into an opportunity. ICRISAT and its partners’ research findings would be an actual demonstration of the power of ‘Science of Delivery,” said Dr. Sreenath Dixit, Global Research Program Director, Resilient Farm and Food Systems, ICRISAT.

A Washington State University research team has developed just such a system, which they detail in a study published in the journal Computer and Electronics in Agriculture. The system is designed to have automated drones available to patrol 24 hours a day to deter pest birds, like European starlings or crows, that cost growers millions of dollars a year in stolen or ruined fruit.

“Growers don’t really have a good tool they can rely on for deterring pest birds at an affordable price,” said Manoj Karkee, associate professor in WSU’s Department of Biological Systems Engineering and the study’s corresponding author. “With further refinement and industry partnerships, this system could work.”

For the study, the team ran two separate tests: detecting birds and deploying drones automatically. Over a few years, Karkee’s team developed a camera system and algorithm that would find birds and count them as they flew in and out of fields.

The team customized very small drones  and deployed them for flight tests on small plots with simulated birds. Technologically, the system resembles drone package delivery systems. It will be several years before this particular technology would be commercially available for growers because there are still several hurdles, including making sure it works at scale, complies with federal drone regulations, and continues to deter birds even if drones are commonly flying around.

“Birds are really clever,” said Karkee, who is also affiliated with WSU’s Center for Precision & Automated Agricultural Systems. “They often find ways around deterrents. We don’t want a system that only lasts for a few months or years before they stop being scared off.”

For now, the birds are scared off just by the motion and whirring noises made by drones. But Karkee said that sounds, like distress calls or predatory bird noises, could be added. Builders could even design special drones for the job. “We could make drones look like predators, or have reflective propellers that are really shiny,” he said. “All of these working together would likely keep birds away from those vineyards and fields. We need to research those over multiple years to make sure.”

The automation research is the third in a series of three studies concerning drones and bird pests. The first showed that manually operated drones, doing random flights, successfully drive off or keep birds away from vineyards. They found that drones reduced bird counts four-fold. The second project showed the impact driving off the birds can have on crop yield. Karkee’s team followed up on the fields where they manually drove birds off. Those fields had around 50% reduction in damaged fruits.

Karkee plans to meet with growers, technology companies and other stakeholders to start next steps on working toward a commercially available automated drone system. “It takes time,” he said. “But the results so far are exciting. We’re looking forward to doing more work on this project.”

CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication & Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR) has undertaken a major initiative for the dissemination of CSIR technologies for creating livelihood opportunities in rural areas in the wake of the situation created by Covid-19 pandemic. In this regard, a farmer-industry-scientist meet was organised at Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) Dehradun on May 30, 2022, to disseminate the Kisan Sabha App and Gur Bhatti (jaggery processing unit) technology to the farmers.

The objective was to disseminate Kisan Sabha application developed by CSIR-NIScPR and Gur Bhatti Technology developed by CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Dehradun for creating livelihood opportunities in rural areas; and also to develop the business opportunities for the farmers’ livelihood creation and enhance their income. In the meet, scientists, industrialists, financiers and farmers came together on a single platform to discuss all the opportunities and challenges. On this occasion, Dr. Anjan Ray, Director, CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP), Dehradun, encouraged to organise such meetings that would help ensure the economic security and health of rural people. He asserted the need for enhanced production with limited resources as well as to minimise the environmental impacts of the process, he listed out some of the CSIR-IIP’s technologies which could benefit the farmers.

Prof. Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication & Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR), New Delhi joined the meet online. She expressed her gratitude to the farmers and described the recent initiatives taken by CSIR-NIScPR towards livelihood creation and income generation in the rural areas through CSIR’s technologies. Further, she highlighted the success of Kisan Sabha and explained the potential of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) network. She apprised of 82 technologies compendium selected for rural areas. She explained the importance and the benefits of the Gur Bhatti technology. Finally, she assured the full support of CSIR to the farmers.

Dr. Yogesh Suman, Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-NIScPR discussed the importance of the meet to sort out the challenges faced by the farmers. This exercise will help boost the dissemination of the technology using Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) network. As UBA has a large network of higher education institutions and provides the grassroot information about the problems of the rural areas. This information would help in the dissemination and deployment of the CSIR technologies in rural areas. He also emphasised that strong linkages should be developed between technology developers and adopters.

Dr. Pankaj Arya, Principal Scientist, CSIR-IIP emphasised that traditional Gur (jaggery) making process results in air pollution in the region and expressed the need for advanced technology solutions. In view of this, CSIR-IIP has developed advanced, simple and affordable Gur Bhatti technology that not only reduces the emission of pollutants but also increases the efficiency of the Gur Bhatti by reducing in the fuel cost by 15 per cent and increasing production by 25 per cent. He further listed multiple benefits of this technology, in particular, the increased life of the plant.

Dr. Farhat Azad, Principal Scientist, CSIR- NIScPR discussed the Kisan Sabha app and also demonstrated it in front of the farmers.  The app was launched with the objective to uplift the livelihood of small and marginal farmers. Discussing about the dependency on middlemen and lack of information in the supply chain, she described the idea of Kisan Sabha app assimilating the idea of utilisation in agri supply chain. She further added various information channels and various options. The app can keep the farmers updated by continuously adding recent features. About eight lakhs farmers and numerous other stakeholders have joined the Kisan Sabha app. In addition, 3000 self-help groups (SHGs) are also joined in this app. The most important feature of this app it is available in 12 regional languages. She categorically mentioned to the farmers about the jaggery products are added in the Kisan Sabha.

A comprehensive presentation of the Central, state governments and NABARD initiatives towards funding for farmers was given by Bhupendra Kumawat, AGM, NABARD Dehradun. He mentioned about Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Deendayan Kisan Yojana, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund and various other schemes to facilitate farmers’ funding requirements for their needs. Satya Prakash from Dhampure Specialty Sugars explained about the need of a marketing strategy to sell the products in the market. He emphasised on to make other products like Sirka that will enhance the income of the farmer.

Ajay Gairola discussed about the opportunities for farmers in the retail sector. He further emphasised the exploration of linkages between farmers and retailers which is yet less explored. In the concluding session, the meeting was concluded with the success stories of the farmers.

Ingen Technologies, a fully-owned subsidiary of Weather Risk Management Services (WRMS) collaborated with Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati, a regional centre of India Meteorological Department  (IMD) and bagged a contract for the procurement, installation and maintenance of automatic rain gauge stations in the northeastern states of India. The meteorological department owns and operates a network of about 2000 AWS and ARG across the country. Under the project ‘Sustenance and Maintenance of Observational Network of AWS (Automatic Weather Stations) and ARG (Automatic Rain Gauge Systems)’, it is proposed to augment the ARG station network in northeastern states; Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura). IMD proposes to install mobile telemetry (SIM GPRS transmission) based ARG stations for the northeastern states of India.

Ingen Technologies will be fully responsible for executing the project by taking up the charge of supply, installation, integration and commissioning of all ARG systems and required accessories such as mast, fencing material, sensor mounting accessories, cables, connectors, enclosures, conduits, switches and transient protectors. Also, Ingen Technologies will take care of preventative maintenance as well as inter comparing the ARG data with travelling standards at ARG sites every year (January/ February month) at IMD calibration facilities, Pune. On getting the contract, Dr. Ashish Agarwal, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Weather Risk Management Services said, “We are enthralled with our association with the Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati, Assam. Having worked with many state governments till date, we are confident towards building better and sustainable solutions for northeastern states of the country and beyond.”

“Weather-related uncertainties can result in devastating socio-economic consequences for farmers. By deploying this niche of ours, we are confident that we will be able to help the Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati in detecting weather-related risks in time to avoid disasters. WRMS is already a key player in the weather IoT space, and this project is going to be a major leap in our next phase of growth and will definitely help us expand our solution across India and the world,” he added.

Ingen Technologies manufactures, supplies, installs and operates advanced IoTs like Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), Automatic Rain Gauge Systems (ARG) and Automatic Irrigation Systems. The company has installed more than 40,000 IoTs across the country and is working with many government organisations like Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, Andhra Pradesh State Development Planning Society, and more.  Ingen has a team of over 500 multi-disciplinary experts across agricultural science, data science, meteorology, actuarial science and information technology.

The key scope of the collaboration includes an exchange of hourly short-range model for rainfall probability, rainfall amount, temperature, and humidity using historic Internet of Things (IoT) data and hourly forecast data, as well as precipitation nowcasting models.

With day-to-day weather playing an important role in agricultural production, accurate prediction of weather can significantly help with increasing crop growth and yield, controlling pests, water and fertiliser needs. Since its founding in 2018, Fasal has been working to remove the guesswork out of farming by equipping horticulture farmers with farm-specific crop intelligence through its precision farming systems. Now, as part of the agreement, Fasal, and the IMD will together promote research and development (R&D) activities pertaining to the development of weather forecast models which would mutually benefit both entities and thereby farmers.

Accurate microclimatic forecasts such as temperature, humidity, and precipitation among other climatic indicators, are crucial to achieving smart agricultural practices as they help farmers gain a comprehensive picture of their farms, manage crop growth, minimise crop infestations and plan optimal harvest time. However, most of the weather forecast services available to farmers provide predictions for large areas. To change this, Fasal will leverage its award-winning IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered technology to develop precipitation nowcasting (forecasting for a very short-term period of up to 2 hours) along with the IMD. The regions that are in the purview of this agreement for R&D include: five districts in Karnataka, five districts in Maharashtra, one district in Telangana and two districts in Andhra Pradesh.

The raw atmospheric data provided by IMD will harness Fasal’s strong IoT and AI-powered models to provide accurate short, medium, and long-range weather and microclimate forecast to minimise weather-induced agricultural productivity losses to farmers. IMD has 23 radar stations, which would help in providing Fasal with historical radar and satellite data for the above-mentioned regions. Of Fasal’s several on-ground systems that run on solar and battery power, about 500–600 in the mentioned regions will be used to gather the IoT data to be shared with the IMD. Fasal’s devices have sensors that can measure various farm-level macroclimatic, and microclimatic conditions along with rainfall, soil moisture, soil temperature, wind direction, leaf wetness, among other related forecasts. The data collected from the hardware systems is processed into actionable advisories for farmers using agronomic models, AI and  Machine Learning (ML).

Highlighting the partnership, Shailendra Tiwari, Founder, Fasal said, “We at Fasal are excited to partner with IMD to help farmers in the country manage their crops better. We are thrilled to work with the IMD in developing precipitation nowcasting and short-range forecasting models, which will help farmers make timely and accurate decisions for their farms. This partnership helps us work towards furthering Fasal’s mission of making precision farming accessible and affordable to all farmers while removing guesswork.”

Briefing about the collaboration, Dr KK Singh, Scientist- G and Head, Agromet Advisory Services Division, IMD said, “Through this partnership, we are glad that many Indian farmers can reap the benefits of the research exchange and make their farming climate-smart. The powerful hourly forecast data and precipitation nowcasting models being developed with Fasal will be game-changers in equipping farmers with farm-specific crop intelligence, helping them make informed decisions. Through this research collaboration, we are on the path to making Indian farming resistant to day-to-day weather conditions.”

The method uses machine learning (ML) algorithms to detect defects in bananas prior to them being sold in the market. These algorithms are later being integrated into an app, which can be downloaded onto a farmer’s mobile phone. The early detection of defects allows farmers to optimise their fruit care, storage, and logistics processes.  It will lead to the more effective usage of Agri inputs, better quality fruits and less wastage along the supply chain.

The partnership allows to combine the tech capabilities of BASE and EMPA and build on Innoterra’s deep farming know-how to further strengthen its full-stack platform offering to smallholder farmers in India and other developing markets. Highlighting the partnership, Dr. Anup Karwa, Head of Operations India, Nutrition Division at Innoterra said, “We are combining state-of-the-art technologies with Innoterra’s deep expertise in banana cultivation and tech-enabled end-to-end platform, to the benefit of small-holder farmers in India. India is the world’s largest producer of bananas yet struggles with inferior quality and high wastage throughout its supply chain. Technology-enabled improvements in pre-and post-harvest processes will make Indian banana farmers more competitive, reduce the food wastage, allow for better price realisations and increase their incomes.”

Key person involved in developing this partnership, Dr Thijs Defraeye, Group Leader SimBioSys at EMPA said, “Teaming up with Innoterra is essential for us to implement, test and optimise the machine learning models we are developing. Working closely with them helps us complete the innovation pipeline.”

Speaking on the benefits of digital quality control tools for banana supply chain, Thomas Motmans, Team Lead and Senior Sustainable Energy Finance Specialist, BASE said, “We are glad that the solutions we are developing as part of the project Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant, are being adopted by Innoterra as a leading player in the agricultural sector in India. This partnership will reduce post-harvest losses for smallholders by strengthening agricultural cold chains with business model innovation and digitalisation.”

Rural India especially farmers are still undergoing ‘power anxiety’ due to a lack of adequate power supply through grids. There are a large number of villages and hamlets where is no uninterrupted electricity supply. The governments find it expensive to buy batteries to store the energy coming from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Farmers’ irrigation plans get disrupted to a lack of power.  A solution to these problems has been found and governments are coming forward to tie up with a multinational company excelling in the battery business. Once the state governments take newly launched ‘Power as a Service’ (PaaS) a unique OPEX model by Tesla Power USA, they would not need to buy batteries for power storage and their CAPEX will be reduced radically. The move would facilitate rural power supply benefitting farmers the most.

“We have nearly seven lakh villages in the country. The regular power supply is still a challenge. We are here to address these challenges. We will be joining hands with state governments to provide PaaS. We are adding the PaaS model vertical to our business plan to help the consumers convert their CAPEX into OPEX. This will reduce the burden of upfront investment, maintenance and replacement of batteries for a long duration thus empowering rural India to meet its growing energy demands,” Kavinder Khurana, MD, Tesla Power USA told Agriculture Post.

Tesla Power USA, the fastest growing brand of batteries in India, plans to invest USD 1 billion (Rs 7,500 crore approximately) in India in the next three years to expand its unique OPEX model PaaS. The company has also launched its ‘Mission 1,000’ for the current Financial Year (FY 2022-23). The company’s vision is to contribute to the increasing power demand in India by providing batteries and energy storage solutions on a lease to Indian consumers through their PaaS model.

Tesla Power USA has completed its first year in India. It offers innovative products using American technology thereby making them affordable and durable. With the PaaS model for a consumer or client, CAPEX is converted into OPEX. Tesla Power USA is among the fastest-growing brand of batteries in India. Within one year of operations in India, Tesla Power USA was able to sell over Rs 100 crore worth of batteries and energy solutions in India. They have 250+ distributors in 20+ states in India. The company sells more than 130+ products through its 500+ Exclusive Tesla Power Shops (Sales and Service Centres) and more than 5000 MBO dealers in India.

“Our Mission 1,000 targets Rs 1,000 crore turnover, 1,000 client base, and the same number of Exclusive Tesla Shops (Sales and Service Centre) in FY 2022-23. Our vision of introducing the PaaS model has been validated and endorsed by Industry experts as well as financial investors. The company has planned and budgeted to deploy and manage batteries and energy storage solutions worth around USD 1 billion on PaaS model in India between FY 2022 to 2025,” added Khurana.

“Tesla Power USA’s PaaS model will be the single biggest revolution in the energy storage solutions that will be introduced in a growing economy like India and the APAC region. It will be a global game-changing OPEX model solution that will be available to the telecom sector, renewable energy sector – solar, wind and hydro, banking and data centres, and the fast-growing EV sector, creating a positive impact on their feasibility and sustainability,” said Shaibal Ghosh, Chief Executive Officer – APAC Region, Tesla Power USA.

“It’s a tipping point in the history of power storage solutions and we are already being celebrated with great encouragement and support from the state governments and industry leaders of those sectors who will benefit from it,” Ghosh added. Last year, Tesla Power USA introduced American technology-based products such as inverter batteries, automotive batteries, two-wheeler batteries, tractor batteries, truck batteries, solar batteries and solar panels, lithium-ion batteries, home UPS, solar UPS, industrial UPS2v/ 12v batteries, smart inverters and hybrid VRLA, SMF VRLA batteries in India.

Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Government of India organised a webinar on ‘Neoteric Techniques and Technologies in Fisheries and Aquaculture’ today under the week-long ‘Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari’ campaign from 25th to 30th April 2022. The event was presided over by Jatindra Nath Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries (DoF) and attended by more than 350 participants including fishers, farmers, entrepreneurs, officials of Department of Fisheries and fisheries officials of various states and union territories, faculties from state agriculture, veterinary and fisheries universities, scientists, hatchery owners, students and stakeholders from aquaculture industry across the country.

In his inaugural address, Union Secretary Fisheries, Swain highlighted the growth and development of fisheries sector over the recent years and added that there was ample scope and need for expansion and diversification of Indian fisheries and aquaculture with the help of advanced technologies. He further requested the scientists and entrepreneurs to motivate farmers and develop innovative ways for increasing profits, decreasing input cost, species diversification and increasing the production and productivity of fish species and commercialising these techniques.

Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland Fisheries), in his opening remarks, briefly highlighted that Government of India was promoting scientific methods, innovations and infusion of modern technologies by providing financial assistance under various schemes which can benefit fishers and farmers of the country using latest techniques and the need of research and development in focus areas.

During the technical session, Dr. AP Sharma, Former Director, ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, (ICAR-CIFRI) made a comprehensive presentation on ‘Technological trends in fisheries and aquaculture’ focusing on the reproductive innovations, productivity trends, molecular technologies, along with commercially viable trends like RAS, biofloc technology, coldwater fisheries, ornamental fisheries, multi-trophic aquaculture, aquatic health management, genetics and biotechnology along with future technologies highlighted the importance of investing in good quality fish feed for ensuring high-quality fish is produced and reared.

Dr. L. Narasimha Murthy, Senior Executive Director, National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) gave a presentation on ‘Training & capacity building on new technologies in fisheries and aquaculture’ and highlighted the significance of skill and capacity building of fishers and fish farmers for building a pool of skilled workforce in the aquaculture activities.

After the presentation during the webinar on Neoteric Technologies in Fisheries and Aquaculture, a session sharing the success stories was also held and stories highlighting the success of aquaculture ventures were presented by the Department of Fisheries, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh which served as a motivation for the participants. This was followed by an open discussion forum with the participants, led by Sagar Mehra with Dr. AP Sharma and Dr. L. Narasimha Murthy, focusing on real-time successful techniques being invented and practiced by fish farmers across the country.

A sensor-based irrigation system using bank filtration technology and controlled via web/mobile app installed at Sal River near Navelim and Nauta Lake at Cortalim, Goa, has prevented wastage of water in the area and also made it easy for farmers to monitor the irrigation remotely. The moisture values are provided by the sensors starting the water motor only when there is an actual need for water and turning it off when the moisture level reaches the maximum value. This process prevents water erosion and maintains the soil quality throughout the field. The system has saved time, especially for the daily wage farmers giving them freedom and flexibility to sell their harvest in the market. It has reduced their labour work and helped the farmers financially as well.

The irrigation system was implemented by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), in collaboration with the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Goa, and supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, under the umbrella of Demand Driven Mission – Water Technology Initiative.

It provides clean water to farmers for irrigation through River Bank Filtration (RBF) technology coupled with a sensor-based irrigation system, which is the first of its kind in the region. RBF operates by extracting water from wells located near rivers or lakes. As the river water infiltrates into and passes through the riverbed sediments, contaminants like bacteria and toxic metals are removed by overlapping biological, physical, and chemical processes.

The planners installed affordable RBF wells for the treatment of polluted water from the Sal River near Navelim and Nauta Lake at Cortalim, Goa, powered by renewable energy resources (solar-powered pumps) to provide clean water to farmers in off-the-grid areas. Water, with improved quality parameters such as reduced turbidity and bacterial load supplied through a systematic pipeline system, helped farmers to obtain better crop production. The project presents a model of sustainability for educating farming communities with small landholdings which are unique to Goa. The technology of RBF offers an inexpensive means to remove large amounts of contaminants, including suspended particles and attenuation of microbes, and essentially provide improved water quality to the farmers’ community to fulfil their irrigation requirements.

A dissemination workshop was also organised in which relevant stakeholders, researchers, policymakers, and farmers were handed over the information and technology to the local ownership, and the initiative has opened up new collaborations for future developments.