Mangaluru farmer Ganapathi Bhat has innovated an easy-to-use ’tree scooter ’that helps reduce dependence on labourers and helps farmers harvest 300 areca palms in a day, thrice the amount harvested using traditional methods.
In Karnataka’s Mangaluru, an unreliable labour workforce and untimely maintenance of areca nut trees often affect the harvest, and in turn, farm income. Realising the gap, Ganapathi Bhat came up with an innovative ‘tree scooter’ that helps farmers climb up an areca nut tree in seconds.
The machine works with a harness, seat, and seat-belt and operates using a small motor and a set of wheels to grasp the trunk without using their hands. This easy-to-use machine helps reduce dependence on labourers, cuts down costs by 20 per cent, and helps farmers harvest 300 areca palms in a day, which is over thrice the amount harvested from traditional methods.
“The labourers used to work for four to five days a week, as the conventional method was limited to covering fewer trees per day. But today, a single labourer can complete the work of four. This saves about Rs 24,000 a week in labour costs,” Ganapathi tells The Better India.
With no technical or engineering background when he created this scooter, villagers called him insane. But his invention helped them tackle the difficulties in harvesting betel nuts.
So far, he has sold hundreds of bikes and continues to amaze people with his innovation.
Learn more about his innovation here:
Edited by Divya Sethu
