Bhubaneswar, Nov. 2: In a first for the institute, IIT Bhubaneswar has entered into a tie-up with College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, which is affiliated to Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, for its ongoing groundwater research project.
The project seeks to improve groundwater levels in farmlands to manage the impact of climate change.
"We will use technology to enhance agri-water management so that farmers can use the available water efficiently and increase productivity," said IIT Bhubaneswar director R.V. Raja Kumar at the golden jubilee celebration of College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology.
The project, titled "Improving groundwater levels and quality through enhanced water use efficiency in eastern Indian agriculture", was started in 2013.
"We wanted to rope in Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) as it is more directly connected to the farmers. It shares a rapport with the farming community. The OUAT officials will help in the transfer of our technology to the farmers effectively," said IIT professor and dean of research R.K. Panda.
The IIT has adopted three villages in Barbil block for the project. "We installed solar powered-sensor boards in electronic test beds to help calculate soil moisture-change at different levels and different temperatures," said Panda.
The IT Research Academy, under the ministry of communications and information technology's department of electronics and information technology, is funding the project. More than a dozen PhD students are working on the project. Once the project concludes, experts will develop a special curriculum to train agriculture students and tech graduates on groundwater.
"We aim to come up with affordable low-cost sensors for our farmers that will tell them how much water will be right for their fields," Panda said.
"We are working in this sector for the first time. The research will help in better rainwater and innovative agricultural management using surface and groundwater," he said.<>Speaking at the function, the IIT director encouraged the students to become entrepreneurs and make affordable machines for the farmers.
In another development, a new incubation centre will be started at the IIT Bhubaneswar from this academic year, he said. Even students who have graduated can stay on the campus and use labs, library and expertise of the faculty members to come up with product, processes or business solutions.
