Approach for the Development of PIPV Product in the Context of Rural India – Application of Findings
Step 2. Analysis and background study of identified intervention area
The activity of agricultural insecticide spraying is observed in the actual scenario.A study visit was conducted to Pimplagaon Konzira and Sukewdi villages from Sangamner tehsil and Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. From the discussion with local farmers, the agricultural spraying process is observed by taking inputs about the entire process.
The agriculture spraying process is divided into multiple tasks, which are listed below
1. Preparing the mixture - This is the very first step in which farmers prepare a mixture of insecticides as indicated
2. Pouring the mixture – the mixture is poured into a spray pump as per spraying needs.
3. Spraying - the farmer has to move through farmland to spray the prepared mixture on the crop. For this, various types of pumping equipment are available. Some of the pumps are motorized, while others are manually operated.
4. Repeat - if the pump tank capacity is small, the farmer needs to refill it to repeat the process.
There are three basic types of pumping systems A. Manual pumping spray
B. Battery-operated pumping spray
C. Motorized (Engine operated pumping spray)
Farmers use motorized pumping units for large farm sectors as it has a large tank capacity, which is placed at one location and spraying is done through a long pipe circulated through the crops. Figure 6.3 and figure 6.4 show the insecticide spraying on small crops like onion and big crops like pomegranate.
Figure 6.3 Spraying of insecticide to small crops (Onion) by motorized spraying system
Figure 6.4 The motorized spraying system is used to spray insecticide on big crops (pomegranates).
Farmer's affordability is the primary factor that affects their farming process. As stated earlier in this study, most farmers have small sectors of land and low-income levels. They cannot afford expensive and large systems for their farming needs. The process shown in the above images is convenient for extensive farmlands, but it is associated with many parallel drawbacks. Some of them are associated with high capital and operation cost; they need more human resources for their operation; It offers little flexibility of spraying as someone continuously needs to hold the feed pipe. Another alternative to this motorized system is a backpack type of spraying equipment that can be manual or battery operated.
These products are helpful for small-scale and economical spraying of farmland. The backpack-type spraying systems are associated with a few limitations; some come with limited tank capacity, which requires refilling after some time. It involves the repetitive task of making an insecticide mixture. Also, the user needs to carry the heavy weight on the back while spraying, which is a tedious task. Figure 6.5 shows the backpack type of manual and battery-operated agricultural sprayer. The manual spray pump comes with a hand-held lever to pump and spray liquid.
Figure 6.5 Left - Backpack type manually operated spray pump, Right - Backpack type battery operated spray pump
These systems have advantages and disadvantages listed below in Table 6.1. Due to their associated advantages, such as low cost, individual handling, and accessibility to every corner of the farm, battery-powered backpack spraying equipment is increasingly popular among farmers.
Table 6.1 pros and cons of motorized and backpack-type agricultural spraying systems
Motorized Spraying system
Cons Pros
High Initial Cost
More workforce requirement High Maintenance
Involved Fuel cost Less Accessibility
High Efficiency Less refilling No-load on back
Backpack Type Spraying system
Cons Pros
Heavy Load on back Repetitive Refilling Limited tank capacity Battery capacity Stress on hands
Comparatively low cost Individual Handling Accessibility
Zero operation cost
The process of spraying by backpack-type sprayer is studied to understand some facts and the associated inputs from users. The input information collected from the field is elaborated on below. Figure 6.6 shows the large farm area being sprayed using a backpack- type sprayer.
Figure 6.6 large farm area being sprayed using backpack type battery operated spraying equipment.
The following inputs are collected from direct user observation and interviews with the farmers: Fourteen to sixteen tanks of the insecticide mixture are required for one acre of land. Considering this requirement, the user must refill the tank 12 – 14 times as per the crop density. Table 6.2 shows some facts and figures observed during this study.
Table 6.2 Details of the backpack-type battery-operated spraying equipment and spraying activity.
Sr. Head Details
1 Tanks required for 1 acre of land 14 – 16 Numbers
2 Tank Capacity 16 Liters
3 Pump Cost (Single battery operated) Rs. 3200 - 3500
4 Single battery capacity 10 – 12 tanks
5 Time to spray 1 acre field 4 – 6 hours
6 Distance travelled by user while spraying 1-acre farmland 5 – 6 Kms
Table 6.3 Some of the issues associated with these battery-operated backpack types of spray pumps.
Refilling – To complete the one acre of the land user has to refill the tank around 12 to 14 times.
This activity involves making the
insecticide/fertilizer mixture with water (16 litres) as per the required proportion. Preparing a mixture for every time is a tedious task.
Lifting on the back – user has to lift the spraying equipment on his back. The total weight of the product is around 22 – 26 kg.
This heavy lifting is complex, and they have to take some support or adjust their posture to ease this activity. Many times, this results in cramps and pain in back
Repetitive – the task of spraying is repetitive.
The user has to move in multiple directions to cover the entire field. The total distance covered while spraying one acre is around 5 to 6
kilometres.
Limited battery – Battery capacity is limited to spraying 12 to 14 tanks. If the battery is drained, it is not possible to charge it due to the unavailability of an electricity source in a farm field. User has to travel to his home to charge the battery
Product study and comparison – As a part of this step, the various products available in the market are studied to know parameters like cost, capacity, and weight. Table 6.4 shows these parameters. These products are compared based on Pugh’s matrix to get the overall rating of the available products based on user feedback.
Table 6.4 Cost, weight and capacity of the various backpack products.
Sr.
No.
Product Cost
(Rs.)
Weight (Kg)
Tank capacity (L)
Lifting weight (kg) 1 Manually operated spray
pump
2000 4.5 16 20.5
2 Battery-operated spray pump
3100 6.8 16 22.8
3 Battery Plus Manually operated spray pump
4200 7.4 16 23.4
4 The motorised engine- operated spray pump
8000 8.3 20 28.3
5 Solar-powered spray pump 5000 7 16 23
From the above table, the total lifting weight of the product can be compared. Manually operated spray pumps are comparatively lighter and available at a low cost, but they are associated with a tedious manual operation. This creates difficulty in its use. Battery- operated and solar-powered spray pumps are nearly the same in weight but are comparatively costly. Most pump sets are available with a 16-litre tank capacity except the engine-operated pump, which has 20 litre of tank capacity. This information is used to conduct a Pugh matrix analysis of these products to get the overall rating based on different criteria like cost, operational cost, usability, and weight.
Twelve farmers from two villages, Sukewadi and Pimpalgaon Konzira of Sangamner Tehsil, Ahmednagar district, participated in this exercise to rate the products based on their experience of using backpack type of spraying equipment.
Table 6.5 shows the Pugh matrix for various backpack-type spraying products.
Table 6.5 Pugh matrix analysis of various backpack-type spraying products.
Products
Criteria Manually Operated
Battery Operated
Manual + Battery
Engine operated
Solar powered
Cost 1 1 -1 0 0
Operational Cost 1 -1 0 -1 1
Usability -1 1 1 1 1
Weight 1 0 0 -1 0
Positives 3 2 1 1 2
Negatives -1 -1 -1 -2 0
Neutral 0 0 0 0 0
Total 2 1 0 -1 2
The Pugh analysis shows that manually operated and solar-powered spraying products are comparatively better than other available options. However, considering added advantages and functionality, the solar product could perform better than manually operated products.
It defines the need for industrial design interventions to improve this product based on the user and field requirements.