IIT-M, NGO develop cableway to carry crops from fields

CHENNAI: Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) researchers, jointly with a farmers’ NGO, have developed a unique, efficient, and cost-effective agricultural transportation system that addresses labour shortage, a major issue faced by Indian farmers.

This transportation system, which is a lightweight monorail type, can economically carry agri produce from fields to collection points near the farmlands, a communique from the IIT-Madras on Wednesday said.

The IIT research team and Pothu Vivasayeegal Sangam, a farmers’ NGO have successfully tested this prototype cableway system at a farm in Nanjai Thottakurichi village of Karur district.

Manpower shortage is one of the major issues plaguing the Indian farming system, especially during the post-harvest period when significant manpower is required to transport agri produce (such as sugarcane, banana bunches, or paddy) from the field to a nearby collection point. The problem is acute in wetland farms, as labourers find it difficult to traverse across waterlogged land with headloads.

The prototype provides an economical and simple solution to this problem.