Empathy is most important ingredient of success & success comes with the sense of responsibility : Dr. Saluja
“So break the rules, be a farming dude; farming is an incredible enterprise! We feed this world and hence we always need to carry the pride for same”
Meet the Innovator of the week Dr. Nitin Saluja.
Dr. Nitin Saluja started the journey of E-DeWeeder from his transition to adulthood when he got passionate about farming profession. While he was doing Masters in Engineering in 2010, the pressure of studies bound him to devote quite lesser time to farming but being a resident of a village (Sirsa in Haryana), he always was determined to solve the problems of farmer which was ever underestimated by policy-makers. The problem of weeds in the agriculture farms were getting intense and the impact of chemical weedicides used for weed control was reducing. His quest for doing something out of the box for farmers led him to further step into Ph.D. two years later.
GIVING A GREEN SPIN TO FARMING
During the doctoral studies he came across the microwave energy which is considered as dangerous radiations for living organisms. The idea then stroke to a farmer who turned to be a technologist mind and since then never looked back! E-DeWeeder hence came into existence and now works on the mechanism of high frequency waves. It selectively treats the weeds by cell deaths. Further to this, he piloted his blasting venture “Green Farming Forever” with which he had broken all the rules and had set a record.
“MAGIC MACHINE “FOR INDIAN FARMERS
“We are destined enough to be the only non-chemical and 100% weed control solution provider globally” -Dr. Saluja The unmanned machine, E-Deweeder, has been named as “Magical Machine” by the farmers! It is chemical-free reliable alternative to high priced and hazardous chemical weedicides. This is a self traversing farm machine which does automatic detection and treatment of weeds. It is designed to control the weeds without harming the crops. The potent machine is powerful enough to walk over the non-uniform terrain profile and hence can traverse the farm with advantage that it doesn’t disturb the crop at any stage of crop production.
Thus, E-DEWEEDER IS A SMART SENSOR-BASED WEED CONTROL MACHINE.
A BOOST IN CROP YIELD
“Our invention offer crop yield enhancement upto 37 % of crop yield without any hazardous side effects. It reduces re-growth of weeds and ensures a good return on capital investment in a year”-Dr. Saluja
Where poor farmers in India have to undergo a miserable plight, this farming rebellion definitely does magic for them! The machine is quite beneficial for small farmers who are at the bottom of pyramid. It is offered to DeWeed at the price of INR 280/acre in comparison to 1700 / acre through chemical weedicides.
EMPLOYING THE UNEMPLOYED
The potential innovator soon got associated with Chitkara University in Chandigarh and started piloting the project in the field. The adaption increased exponentially and with a no of awards and honors rest is history. I came up with company name GFF () Innovations. It also is offering employments to farmer youngsters as micro-entrepreneurship model is adopted. The youngsters from farming families (specifically small farmers) are preferred as service provider for the machine in the village. Hence, it offers inclusive growth to the farmers. No wonders, why it remains a complete package, potential enough, to bring a revolution in the farming industry!
ODDS HE FACED
“I still remember the laughs of the panel members that almost broke me from inside. They proved that I can’t go ahead since I am not an IIT pass-out. I don’t blame them for ignorance to my technology completely; it was the eco-system then which never allowed any youngster to get recognition in world of technology. Every-one used to think that the experience has no alternates and I need to get an experience of at-least 20-30 years to understand the problem and offer the solution”-Dr. Nitin Saluja.
Thus, according to the victorious innovator, when one starts working for farming community, he needs to fight for his recognition. It dates back in year 2005 when he came across the problem of weeds in the farm. Then, he could only convince a few policy makers to work with him. And, it took him 7-long years full of challenges to develop his dream product.
SUCCESS BEARS RESPONSIBILITY
“Empathy is most important ingredient of success and success comes with the sense of responsibility”-Dr. Nitin Saluja An entrepreneur shoulders responsibility that is like a two-sided sword. Obviously, it covers two aspects. One being the famers and stake holders being the other! “Always keep FARMERS at the center, understand the problem well and offer them the solutions which can fit into their economic budgets”, says Dr. Saluja. Also, according to the 31-year old lad, the youngsters shouldn’t run away from this profession. Instead, they should come forward and take the lead.
POTENTIAL IMPACTS
· Alternate to high price chemical weedicide
· Affordable by Small Farmers
· High crop yield
· No labor required
· Farmer’s health benefits
· No weed seed dispersal
· No impact of weedicide resistance
Thus, after all the odds, it was the zeal that made him understand his responsibilities and pushed him to be a massive success. And for inspiration, he has today turned to an accomplished entrepreneur!