This project was taken up by me and my colleague Mr. Mukunda as a Major Design Project at CPDM, IISc, Bangalore. The challenge was to understand how and why soil moisture in important to agricultural crops and how can this information be made available to the farmer by providing a product based solution. The project included prototyping and demonstration of a working soil moisture sensor. Here, only the user research aspect of it has been presented. 

 

 

About the research

 

The technique of interview was chosen so as to extract maximum information from the conversations with farmers who cannot fill out lengthy surveys. The interview not only covered the farmers, but also scientists who work at agricultural universities. 

 

Interview Sample : 

Farmers from Gujarat, Assam, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra (total 17 farmers)

Scientists (total 6) interviewed were from : 

1. Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Bangalore 

2. Horticultural Research Station, Assam Agricultural University 

3. Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyalaya, Pune 

 

Interview Questions to farmers Included : 

1.  About the farmer : What is the age, gender and education level of the farmer?

2. About the farm : Area of the farm, ownership, type of soil, type of irrigation, type of crops, yield levels, challenges faced etc.

3. About soil moisture : understanding of its importance, current practise of measurement if any, willingness to invest on it if returns are justified

 

Interview Questions to Experts included : 

1. About soil moisture : importance, current practice, government awareness to invest on it

2. About Techniques : scientific techniques, traditional techniques, accuracy levels obtained and desired

3. About the features and functions of the desirable soil moisture sensor in the hands of a farmer