: Farmers 16-YO Son Innovates Low-Cost Device To Sow Seeds Plough Land Faster #IndiaNEWS #Innovation The coastal region of South Canara in Kartnataka’s Mangalore district is known for its progressive

Farmers 16-YO Son Innovates Low-Cost Device To Sow Seeds Plough Land Faster #IndiaNEWS #Innovation
The coastal region of South Canara in Kartnataka’s Mangalore district is known for its progressive growth in literacy, equality, and employment rates. However, a major stronghold of the area’s survival, which is agriculture, has seen a steady decline over the years.
While the cause for this remains natural factors like soil fertility and a dearth of manpower, the people of this region still experiment with unconventional methods to meet the challenges.
This article is a spotlight on one such innovation.
The Seedographer, a multi-purpose seeder and plougher, is a machine that has been perfected over the years to meet the unique daily needs of a farmer.
This idea was born to a young Rakesh Krishna K in 2015. Since then, this child prodigy has created several models of the machine that aid in systematic sowing of seeds, ploughing of land, irrigation and an increased output.
Rakesh with the seedographer
“My father is a farmer and mother is a college professor. Being associated with agriculture since childhood, I started to understand the problems of farmers at a young age. We have an old drum seeder in our house, but it was hardly effective as it was not designed according to the needs of the farmers. That’s why I decided to make a machine for farmers that would cater to a variety of agricultural needs,??? Rakesh told The Better India.

Aiding the Average Farmer
At the age of 11, Rakesh would see his father and other farmers struggle with the tasks of ploughing and sowing, as each task would have to be undertaken by hand. Availability of labour was low, and the prices of mechanical aid were high.
Sowing would take up to two to three days for one hectare of land, while ploughing would require excessive physical labour. Moreover, throwing the seeds across the land by hand meant that only a few of them would end up germinating.
“I realised that farmers needed a machine that would undertake sowing systematically and reduce effort. Also, it had to be affordable so that more and more farmers could use it. With this thought in mind, I started my project,??? he says.
His innovation primarily works on a drum wheel which has holes at equal distances. Attached to the axle of the vehicle, this drum is conical with a narrower width on the outside to ensure that even the last of the seeds ends up being dispersed. The equidistant holes ensure sowing across the land. This mechanism is complemented by a plate at the back, which covers each seed with soil as the machine moves forward.
Rakesh’s father, Ravi Shankar says, “I use the machine on my land to plough the field. I can adjust the holes by opening and closing them, which gives me the desired sowing distance between each seed.