TIRUPATI: At an advanced age of 75, G Gurumoorthy Setti, a farmer from Yeduru village in Gangavaram mandal of Chittoor district, continues to inspire with his resilience, innovation and commitment to farming.
With education only up to Class 10, Gurumoorthy has turned decades of hardship into opportunity, emerging as a successful sericulture farmer.
Spread across eight acres of land, he practices a combination of sericulture and agriculture. Mulberry cultivation for silkworm rearing is his predominant crop, alongside paddy, mango and vegetables. His association with sericulture spans nearly 40 years, a journey marked by market fluctuations.
Rather than giving up, he chose to innovate with limited resources available to him. Determined to reduce losses and make sericulture sustainable, he sweated hard for more than five years, continuously experimenting, testing and refining the idea.
Working mostly in his own fields, he developed multiple trial versions of the machine, learning from failures and modifying the design each time, often using locally available materials and spare parts.
This relentless effort finally resulted in a horizontal cocoon harvester and cleaning machine, popularly known as the ‘Six-in-One Model’. The machine can be operated manually, on battery power, or through a motorbike-based mechanism.
Speaking to TNIE, Gurumoorthy said the innovation was strengthened with technical guidance from scientists of Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Tirupati. “Earlier, during the season, we used to produce about 600 kg of silk cocoons every month, and nearly 35 labourers were required for harvesting, cleaning and transporting the cocoons to the market. Managing labour and expenses was a challenge,” he recalled. The new machine dramatically changed the process. “Now, with support of just seven labourers, the cocoon cleaning can be done efficiently. Earlier, I had to spend more than Rs 20,000, but now my expenditure has come down to around Rs 3,500 for harvesting,” he said.
The machine uses modern yet affordable components such as electricity-powered motors conveyor belts, and processing units. Mesh screens are incorporated to clean cocoons gently without disturbing their round structure, ensuring fine quality silk output. The total cost of the machine is around Rs 50,000, making it a highly useful device for sericulture farmers.
With this innovation, Gurumoorthy says sericulture is a viable livelihood option with a high profit margin of 60 to 70 per cent. Beyond his personal success, he actively guides fellow farmers, encouraging them to take up sericulture as an income-generating activity.