MANGALURU: A video showing a farmer climbing an arecanut tree, with the help of a machine, went viral on social media a few days ago. The innovative machine for climbing arecanut trees in a few seconds – which comes with a two-stroke engine - has caught the attention of Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra, who tweeted, asking his company’s concerned team to see whether they can market the device as part of its Farm Solutions Portfolio.
Ganapathy Bhat, a farmer from a Bantwal village, who developed the machine, to help fellow farmers to spray pesticides and harvest nuts, has refused to transfer the technology to entrepreneurs or industrialists, who are keen to manufacture it on an industrial scale.
When TNIE contacted Bhat on Thursday, he said he had seen Anand Mahindra’s tweet, but flatly refused to share the technology with his or any other companies. “I have put in a lot of effort, and have shed sweat to achieve this. I don’t want to transfer the technology to others,” said the framer, who is a BSc graduate.
His innovation has become a huge hit among farmers, who have been making a beeline to his arecanut farm in Komale to see it. He has even got orders over 300 machines within a week from places including Mysuru, Mandya, Sirsi and neighbouring Kerala. He is charging Rs 75,000 per machine. Buoyed by the response, Bhat also opened a shop on BC Road, earlier this week. He said not just Mahindra, but several other firms had contacted him, seeking the technology he used to develop the machine, but said he had turned them down as well.