IIT (ISM), Dhanbad has researched and developed a new Smart Auto-Irrigation and Upgrade of Soil Monitoring System to motivate and engage to take up agriculture and farming for the distressed families of farmers affected by COVID-19. It was demonstrated at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Dhanbad on Thursday by the IIT, (ISM) Dhanbad research team.
Scientist KVK, Dhanbad, Seema Singh informed that the farmers will be benefited by the new advanced system and the focus is on driving the new system and developing into a sustainable source of income. This project has been established at KVK, Dhanbad, she added.
Singh further informed that the project is part of the IEEE HAC (Humanitarian Activities Committee) and IEEE SIGHT's (Special Interest Group on Humanitarian Technology) response to the current COVID-19 situation with an institute in selected developing Countries has been chosen to improve. IEEE (USA) led by Project Head, Professor, Rajeev Kumar Ranjan and Dr Dheeraj Kumar from IIT (ISM) to empower the people of Dhanbad. “A research fund of US$ 4,995 has been provided this time to make Dhanbad's initiative a success. The project members are Pushkar Srivastava, Sanal Roy, Om Kumar, Sachin Kumar and Shubham Kumar Kurrey. The project was ethically supported by Deputy Director, Dhiraj Kumar and Director, Rajiv Shekhar,†she added.
“Old irrigation techniques lead to wastage of water. Dhanbad district is facing water shortage for a long time. It encourages people to take up farming in the area and move to the nearby metros for better opportunities. This project will help farmers or COVID-19 migrants who are less skilled in farming with a more efficient mode of irrigation. The proposed system is designed to remove unnecessary water runoff in agricultural land by using a sprinkler system. Using the sensor, the readings of temperature, wind speed, sunlight intensity, soil moisture, air humidity and pH are continuously monitored. Solar panels were used for power supply in the system which has made the project self-sufficient, thus it will be more sustainable,†said Singh.
The Scientist further said that all this is easily managed by an Android Application developed by the students which will be available on Google Play Store with the name AgroPro 2.0. “The interface is designed to be minimal to use, with an easy-to-use interface where most tasks are automated that do not require human intervention. Migrant workers living in urban areas have skills that can be used adeptly in providing basic capacity to farmers and eliminating orthodox methods of irrigation practice,†she added.
Singh also said that the new system is cost effective and can be easily afforded by the farmer. Maintenance cost is also very less. “The system comes with a host of features, including but not limited to automatic irrigation, control via multi-language Android app, farmer-irrigation support, 24/7 monitoring. Although these are the current set of features, the proposed research ideas can be implemented with appropriate financial and administrative support from Government organizations,†she added.
