His package of five low-cost solar farm equipment models won him plaudits at a premier national science fair last month. Now Keshav Patil, a first-year pre-university student from Vijayapura, has been invited to participate in the prestigious Indian Science Congress to be held in Mumbai during January 3-6 next year.
Keshav’s solar model includes an electric fence to keep intruding animals out of fields, a grain separator, a de-weeder and a pesticide sprayer, all of which can be operated with a single solar panel.
The farm package was named among the top ten innovative science models in the agriculture category when they were showcased at the annual national-level science exhibition for schools organised in Chandigarh by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. The model has already won him prizes at the taluk, district and State levels.
Keshav told The Hindu that he built the equipment with the help of L.H.Kulkarni, his former science teacher at his alma mater , the local Rukmangada Education Society.
According to Mr. Kulkarni, they spent just Rs.1,200 and worked intensely to develop the set of five equipment. The concept of developing Sun-powered equipment was inspired by the fact that North Karnataka has the geographic advantage of receiving abundant sunlight.
“This energy is available to us freely. We then decided to make use of this natural resource to create equipment that will help the farmer,” he said.
About the products, Mr. Kulkarni explained, “[The] solarpowered fence prevents stray animals from entering agriculture field. Animals are a big menace to farmers anywhere in the country. The equipment supplies 84 volts of power, which is enough to give the animals a small shock without killing them. At the same time, it triggers an alarm and alerts the farmers when an animal comes in contact with the wire.”
School authorities plan to present the models to the Agriculture Department for trials and perhaps to use them on a large scale.
