Thirty-two-year-old D. Lavanya, is a member of Women Farmers Club (WFC), Gollapalle, Medak district, Telangana. She lives with her husband and two daughters. In the 2020 season, she has used the paddy drum seeder to cultivate paddy in two acres of land. The paddy drum seeder was provided to the WFC for use by member and non members to cultivate paddy. Lavanya said that transplanting paddy seedlings is usually highly labor-intensive; however, the paddy drum seeder facilitates direct seeding, even distribution of seeds, and weed management. Using this implement saved her INR 4000 5000 in labor costs for sowing and transplanting the paddy seedlings. Using a waste decomposer also saved her from the cost of chemical fertilizers, and the savings will be used to buy good-quality seeds for the next season. Lavanya says, “Using paddy drum seeder saved my cost for labor and irrigation. This has also reduced the risk of pest attack. Hence my overall expenditure has reduced, and my income has increased. I have shared the benefits of using paddy drum seeder among members of WFC, and some of them have decided to use it next year.”
Authors: Salahuddin Saiphy and Ellora Mubashir
(Salahuddin is principal lead, Water Management and Ellora is communications specialist, Partnerships, S M Sehgal Foundation)
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