: 71-YO Farmer’s Weeding Innovation  Reduces Costs for 1000s of Farmers #IndiaNEWS #Lede Labour scarcity is an issue pertinent to agriculture. The high cost of wages and irregular agricultural activities

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71-YO Farmer’s Weeding Innovation  Reduces Costs for 1000s of Farmers #IndiaNEWS #Lede
Labour scarcity is an issue pertinent to agriculture. The high cost of wages and irregular agricultural activities hampers the productivity of crops and, at times, even compels farmers to change their farming patterns.
Ashok Jadhav from Chinchner village in Satara, Maharashtra, faced similar issues. Having begun farming on his 2-acre ancestral land after retiring from a private company as a machinist, he says, “I have been practising farming since 1999. I grow sugarcane, soybean, turmeric, tomato and other seasonal vegetables. However, I switched to organic farming, which gave rise to the issue of weeds. �
The 71-year-old says that organic farming involves using abundant natural fertilisers, which leads to unwanted weed growth. These weeds consume the nutrients of the soil and affect plant growth.
To solve this issue, Ashok started using weedicide on the farm. “Though it was an effective solution, the chemicals defeated the purpose of growing food organically. Moreover, it started deteriorating the soil quality. We needed a healthier solution for the soil,� he says, adding that he began hiring labour for the task.
“However, labour costs were high, and I could not afford to spend Rs 20,000 on labourers that I occasionally needed,� he explains.
A Solution For Just Rs 400
Weeding device made by Ashok.
Ashok says that it was then that he started thinking of innovative ideas to address the problem. “I reached out to agriculture experts from the government department and created a bicycle weeder that would cut the weeds along the side of the crops. The wheels had blades attached to them, which removed the weeds. But it did not remove the weeds growing between the crops,� he adds.
Looking for a better alternative, he visited agriculture exhibitions to identify tools or equipment to find an affordable solution. But to no avail.
“In 2018, I decided to experiment with a makeshift solution. I took two iron rods, bent them at each of their ends and attached a thin metal wire of 8-10 inches in between, joining the two rods with a metal pipe as a handle,� Ashok says. The device requires manually pulling out the weeds, and the metal wire cuts them by the root.
The tool worked and made it accessible to remove the weeds in congested crops and minor gaps. However, the metal wire broke due to the tension of the weeds or because of its thick stems. “At times, the wire lost the tension between the metal rods and hurt the hand and shoulders,� he says.
Over the next two years, Ashok made multiple changes to the device. “I improved the angle to bend the iron rods, and fitted a metal piece to support the cutting wires.

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