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How "barefoot scientists" are solving everyday problems without formal education

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Dinesh C Sharma
Dinesh C SharmaMar 18, 2015 | 15:15

How "barefoot scientists" are solving everyday problems without formal education

When 62-year-old Abdul Khadar Nadakattin walked up to receive lifetime achievement award for his innovations from President Pranab Mukherjee in the chandeliered hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan last week, he chose to walk barefoot. It was more than symbolism for Abdul Khadar who is a farmer from Dharwad in Karnataka. He is a real "barefoot scientist".

He has never been to school or had any formal technical education but he has thorough knowledge of local agro-climatic conditions and soil characteristics. It is this knowledge and wisdom that has helped him develop agri-technologies and implements over the past three decades. Today he runs an agriculture research centre in his village, Annigeri, and counts the University of Agricultural Sciences at Dharwad among his collaborators. The technologies developed by him – be it growing tamarind with alkaline water or automatic sugarcane sowing – have diffused to scores of farmers, helping them boost farm production and diversify into related activities.

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Many innovators like Abdul Khadar – without any formal education, exposure to research or facilities like government grants – are innovating to solve day to day problems of local communities. Several of their innovations have reached large number of people and are being marketed through commercial tie-ups and even protected through patents. A few selected innovations were on display during the week-long Festival of Innovation hosted by the President in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Anil K Gupta, professor at the Indian Institute of Management - Ahmedabad, has been scouting for grassroots innovation from 25 years through the Honey Bee Network which he established in 1988. In 2000, the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) was set up with help from the government.

The database of grassroots innovators currently has some 2,00,000 innovations, which have been validated and recognised. Among innovators are school dropouts, mechanics, homemakers, masons, agricultural labourers, tribals, teachers, farmers and school kids. “Given their limited access to resources, institutions and formal scientific and technological  systems, new materials and tools, their solutions often are very frugal, knowledge intensive — as against material intensive — and affordable,” says Gupta. “Frugal, friendly and flexible innovations can teach a lot to the formal sector.” It would be insulting to call these innovations "jugaad" – a much abused term.

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The network has teamed up with scientific institutions, design houses and commercial outfits to validate, test, improve and commercialise grassroots innovations. Close to 700 Indian and seven US patents have been obtained for various grassroots inventions in the past 15 years and scores of commercial deals signed. Many innovations are finding takers in other developing countries, particularly in Africa. Financial support is given to selected projects under micro venture innovation facility scheme at the NIF supported for commercialisation of innovations. Another mechanism – Grassroots Technological Innovation Acquisition Facility – helps the NIF to acquire rights of useful innovations so that they could be made available as open source technologies for wider dissemination. Help is also extended for prototype development, testing, design optimisation and developing proof-of-concept models. The idea is not just to recognise innovations and give them awards, but also to ensure that innovators get a fair share of benefits when their ideas reach markets.

Last updated: March 18, 2015 | 15:15
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