It is said that necessity is the mother of invention. A farmer from Karnataka proved this to be true with his innovative invention. Karibasappa MG, while searching for a solution to his problems, has created such an amazing machine, which today is not only benefiting the small farmers of the country but all over the world.
Karibasappa, has developed a machine using solar energy to keep insects away from his crops, the benefits of which are being availed by farmers all over the world today.
The name of his invention is 'Solar Insect Trap', which works to kill insects from fruit and flower fields without any harmful toxic medicine. The best part is, it is a very cost effective method compared to electricity and expensive chemicals. Now this solar insect trap made by him is being used by nearly 18,000 farmers around the world.
Karibasappa is the son of a farmer and joined his father's venture after just completing 10th standard. During that time his father was doing traditional farming. Karibasappa started learning the nuances of farming from a young age. With time, moving beyond traditional crops, he started cultivating fruits in the year 2012.
In the first year he started pomegranate cultivation. Thank to hard work and dedication day in and day out, he got good crops and yield, but even before harvesting, his crops got infected with insects.
After this, when he sought help from the nearby Agricultural Scientific Centre, he got advice on spraying pesticide. The agriculture expert had advised him to spray medicines in five acres of land, which cost around Rs 4 lakh. The worry and stress due to this expense resulted in sleepless nights for the farmer.
Once he saw that many dead insects were lying under a solar bulb near the field, his ingenuity was awoken and he came up with a brilliant idea. Karibasappa then created a stand-like Solar Insect Trap with a simple DC solar bulb and a tub of water.
He also installed an automatic On-Off button so that the lights are switched off at around 10 pm, so that the bees and insects which are beneficial for the crops do not die.
After his small but very effective invention got the green signal from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, he started making it for other farmers.
Today, along with farming, he is also making and selling solar insect traps through his own company MGK. Karibasappa received the Aarohan Social Innovation Award from Infosys Foundation for this invention, which continues to uplift the farmers everywhere.