Odisha: Gurucharan Pradhan, a retired teacher from Odisha, grew up watching his father putting in extra hours of work in the fields due to the unavailability of labour. He often helped his father to reduce his burden. This prompted him to invent a machinery that would allow him and his father to reduce physical labour while increasing efficiency. It took him seven years to develop a successful prototype, and he shares his journey in this story. 

Krishak Sathi

With 7 years of dedicated work, Gurucharan Pradhan invented a machine and named it ‘Krishak Sathi.’ This machine can perform nine tasks namely, transplanting paddy, peeling coconut, cutting fodder, threshing paddy, threshing groundnut, cleaning paddy, sharpening knives or axes, extracting maize grains, and grinding turmeric. Moreover, a dynamo installed in the machine generates electricity while cutting fodder, which can be used to light bulbs or charge batteries. 

Finding solutions

Gurucharan Pradhan grew up in Talita village in Sundergarh district, Odisha. His father used to work as a farmer. Post the completion of his schooling, he found a job as a teacher in a government school. Despite his teaching responsibilities, he continued to tend to the fields, managing 25 to 30 milch animals at home. The shortage of labour posed a significant problem in accomplishing daily tasks. To find a solution, he embarked on making a machine capable of performing several tasks at once. In the year 2000, he began working on developing the machine by studying various farming equipment available in the nearby areas due to the lack of internet. After years of diligent work, he achieved in success in the year 2007. 

Enduring challenges

At the time when Gurucharan Pradhan was engaged in the task of developing the machine, the nearby villagers often poked fun at his endeavours. They often questioned his devotion to his work by saying that his father had sufficient wealth as the head of the village and he already had a stable job, then what was the need of staying up late at night to create a farming equipment. However, today, he is acknowledged for his achievements and people praise him for his contributions. 

The cost of one machine

The problem of rural migration for job opportunities has persisted for many years. The villages are still undeveloped due to which people often choose to relocate to bigger cities. Facing this challenge, Gurucharan focused on enhancing the machine’s efficiency after retirement. Over time, he made several improvements to the machine, incorporating various components including bicycle rims and chains. The production cost of the machine is Rs 25,000. He mentions that a larger production of the machine would result in reduced cost. 

Awards and honours

Gurucharan Pradhan has been honoured with several awards for his invention of Krishak Sathi, including recognition at Vibrant Gujarat 2013, where he was awarded with a prize of Rs 51,000. He has also been honoured by the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) in Hyderabad, the Agriculture Department in Odisha, and the National Innovation Foundation. He gives credit of his success to his wife Meerawati, who always supported him with unwavering dedication.