In India, farmers can now get a little extra rest, thanks to an ingenious use of cell phone technology.
STORY:
The device is called a Nano Ganesh. A modem sits inside a mobile phone and enables farmers to switch on water pumps in their fields, from home.
Forty-year-old engineer Santosh Ostwal developed the device.
Santosh Ostwal, Inventor:
“Farmers needed a device that could switch the water pump on and off from anywhere. If a farmer is in another town, he should be able to operate the pump from there. So I thought, Why not use a mobile phone and insert a modem application?”
So now switching on the water pumps is only a click away.
Ravendra Bugbal, Farmer:
“My fields are 10 kilometers from my house. With the help of this modem, I don’t have to go to the fields at night. I can operate it while sitting at home. We can check while sitting back at home whether the pump is on or off.”
According to Ostwal, nearly eight years of research and development and an investment of over 10 million Rupees have gone into making the Nano Ganesh possible and affordable. Ostwal will travel to Barcelona and Spain later this month to make a presentation at the Mobile World Congress 2009