The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Developing appropriate technology for small farmers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 02, 2006

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Developing appropriate technology for small farmers

Special CorrespondentT. Nandakumar

INNOVATIVE IDEA: Vrishti, the low-cost hand pump developed by M.R. Anilkumar and his team at the Research Testing and Training Centre, Vellayani.

Farmers in water-stressed areas will be thankful to M.R. Anilkumar and his team at the Research Testing and Training Centre (RTTC), Vellayani, near here. The centre has developed a low-cost, low-technology hand pump that can be used to lift water from shallow wells and surface water sources such as ponds.

Named Vrishti, the hand pump has several features that set it apart from other manual irrigation pumps. Built using locally available materials, it employs a double cylinder piston pump for low- lift irrigation. Women and children can easily operate the device by a push- pull movement of the lever mounted on top. The standard version can lift 1,000 to 1,500 litres of water an hour from shallow wells or surface water sources for a suction head up to seven metres.

It can be fabricated by metal workshops using simple hand tools. Live demonstrations have proved that it is possible for a person weighing 63 kg to pump 30 litres a minute at a frequency of 100 strokes. Vrishti is portable and can be installed in a field or any other place where electricity is not available.

Mr. Anilkumar, who recently took charge as the managing director of the Kerala State Bamboo Corporation, said Vrishti was designed as a rugged pump for rural areas. "It was intended to reduce the drudgery on farmers, especially women, by replacing pot irrigation. The pump is ideal for irrigating vegetable farms and homestead gardens. It also helps to save water."

Vrishti is capable of tapping small streams in forest areas to reach water to tribal settlements up to 100 metres away. It can also be deployed in water-starved coastal areas to lift water from nearby ponds.

Vrishti was developed at a cost of Rs.2000. Mr. Anilkumar maintains that the production cost could be brought down to Rs.500 by replacing the metal parts with injection-moulded plastic components.

RTTC has applied for a patent on Vrishti. The inventors have received enquiries from many individuals willing to manufacture the pump. But they feel that it would be better to transfer the technology to a Government firm such as RAIDCO or SIDCO that is better equipped for manufacture and marketing.

Mr. Anilkumar believes that his experience as a project coordinator for the Asian Development Bank in Turkmenistan and Tajikistan had helped him develop a keen sense of the need to develop low-cost, appropriate technology solutions to improve food security and increase small farmer income.

RTTC has developed a working model of the pump and subjected it to extensive field trials. The centre is working on the prototype of a banana fibre extraction unit. It has also completed testing of a solar sprayer.

RTTC is involved in the development and standardisation of indigenous agricultural technology. Researchers at the centre adapt and customise new technologies to location-specific requirements. The centre also conducts periodic training for agricultural officers and farmers to familiarise them with various farm and garden equipment and irrigation and biogas technologies.

T. Nandakumar

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