Research

Agricultural Sciences

Title :

Development of semi-automatic farm devices for usage in small agricultural fields

Area of research :

Agricultural Sciences

Focus area :

Food and agriculture, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

Principal Investigator :

Dr. Sunil Kumar Thamida, Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT), Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh (517619)

Timeline Start Year :

2024

Timeline End Year :

2027

Contact info :

Details

Executive Summary :

IIT Tirupati plans to establish a STI Hub to address the needs of farmers in the SC community and nearby Blocks of Tirupati District. The STI Hub will be established through the Glovill Foundation, a section 8 company, and will focus on developing semi-automatic or semi-manual devices for farming activities such as de-weeding, harvesting, and purchasing mini-machines for making puff rice. The farmers, primarily small landholders, are seeking technology solutions to reduce manual labor costs and improve their livelihoods.

Preliminary tests on de-weeding will be conducted using existing models and prototypes will be developed at the STI Hub. The project aims to reduce the physical effort of farm laborers and make the farming process more self-reliant. The project aligns with make-in-India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat missions of India, reducing the heavy movement of farm laborers and bringing most below-poverty families up to decent standards of living. The collaboration with the Glovill Foundation will also involve partnering with fabricators to manufacture the de-weeder, de-huller, and mini puff-rice kiln.

Co-PI:

Dr. Ajay Kumar, Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT), Tirupati,m Andhra Pradesh (517619)

Total Budget (INR):

67,27,230

Organizations involved