Agricultural Irrigation Method Suitable for Indian Farmers

Abstract

Apart from crop production, irrigation also plays an important role in frost protection, suppression of weed growth, and in many other fields. High initial costs, increase in the concentration of alkaline salts in the soil, loss of water due to evaporation, poor crop quality are some of the demerits of existing irrigation methods. To develop an effective irrigation method suitable for Indian farmers a design thinking methodology was implemented in this work. Based on the stakeholders’ map, the empathy map, and the survey, it was evident that farmers were mostly affected due to the negative effects of present irrigation techniques. After, framing various “How might we….” questions, different ideas were discussed, analyzed, and evaluated using the 2x2 matrix method. A prototype was developed based on the chosen idea and was finally tested. The final idea was developed with a new technique of watering crops inspired by the existing techniques like rain-fed irrigation.