A Story of
Water Shortage
and it's viable
solution
Why This Topic?
I chose this topic from my personal experience and observations as an Indian citizen.
Current Situation
About 330 million people in India are affected by drought
Vision
To optimize water usage to increase the availability of water for 1 million rural households
Target Audience
User
Indian Farmers
Men of gen X, since they are responsible for decision making as well as execution of the farming tasks.
Customer
Indian Government
Agriculture plays an important role in the Indian economy. Therefore, the government is supportive of the systems leading to the farmers’ wellbeing.
Location
Western Maharashtra
Most farmers in this region grow water intensive crops. Hence, if my solution can make even 1% of impact in this region, it can make an even greater impact in other regions.
The Problem
17% of the world’s population resides in India and it has to rely on 0.04% of the total rainfall in the world
Diagnosis of the Problem
1
Reliance on groundwater for 70% of irrigation needs.
This is a problem because using groundwater for irrigation pulls from the most accessible source of drinking water.
2
Irrigation techniques have only 35% of precision
This means that 65% of water goes to waste.
Area of Opportunity
Optimization of water consumption in surface irrigation
Functioning of Surface Irrigation
Root Zone
Furrows
In the method of surface irrigation, water is released in the field from the high point of gravity to the low point of gravity through furrows. The water is allowed to flow free in the field for a number of hours.
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While that is the method in use, many farmers are not aware of the fact that the plants only require the amount of water that reaches till the root zone. Any water that percolates beneath the root zone goes to waste.
Potential Impact
If 50% of farmers optimize water consumption in surface irrigation, that would lead to at least 5% increase in water conservation in agriculture. If that 5% is diverted for domestic usage, it could double the amount of currently available drinking water.
Possible challenges
Lack of motivation to optimize water usage.
User Interview Findings
Five Indian and Five American farmers who use surface irrigation were interviewed.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Irregular availability of electricity affects the use of water pump
If there is no electricity during the day, the farmers switch the pump on at night and let the water run throughout the night which causes a great amount of water waste.
Indian farmers use 8 times more water than American farmers
An average Indian farmer waters a 10 acre farm for 8 hours and an American farmer waters a 10 acre farm for 1 hour or less.
High cost of good quality seeds and fertilizers is one of the big pain points of the Indian farmers
A number of farmers end up in debt due to low profit
Due to the high cost of good quality seeds and fertilizers, the farmers end up harvesting
poor quality yield, which leads to low profit and lands them in debt
Idea
Smart Sinchan
*Word "Sinchan" in the "Marathi" language means Irrigation.
Thus the name of the system can be translated as Smart Irrigation.
System Goal: Maintaining an adequate amount of water in the soil for a crop’s healthy growth
Smart
1.
The moisture sensors are programmed with the amount of water content required in the soil for the growth of a particular crop
2.
As the amount of water in the soil drops below the threshold, the system switches the water pump on
3.
The system switches the pump off when the required amount of water in the soil is obtained
Cybernetic Diagram of System Functionality
To achieve a greater efficiency...
..the system would be linked to a third-party weather app so that it would operate based upon the weather forecast and hold off irrigation on a day where heavy rainfall is predicted.
An ecosystem for agricultural water conservation
Designing a system that facilitates interactions between technology and various stakeholders to conserve water in agriculture
User Journey
The incentives would include the subsidized price of seeds and fertilizers or low-interest rate on loans for optimized use of water.
Value Chain
Why develop with these companies?
These companies are known for their generous contribution of funds for corporate social responsibility in India and operate in the manufacturing industry which demands a great amount of water. Apart from that, the reputation of these companies could be useful in persuading the government.
Why involve the government?
Farming is a prime occupation in the majority of Indian rural households and involvement of the government would give a sense of authority and authenticity to these rural farmers more than any corporate business.
Competitive Analysis
Product Design
An Android Mobile Application
Why a mobile app?
A smartphone is a widely used gadget in India. According to "The Indian Express" newspaper, India is set to have 530 million smartphone users in 2018.
User Flow
Paper Prototype
Mood board
Paper Prototype
Usability Test
Conducted 3 rounds of usability tests after 3 iterations of the prototype
App Translation from English to Marathi for round 1
Usability Test Findings
Users
Location
Test Findings
Images
Round 1
2 Indian Farmers
Pune, India
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Interested in the idea and found it useful
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Found the app easy to use
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Said that he would use the system if it is made affordable
Round 2
3 users of usertesting.com
Various locations in the US
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Confused about the start and end irrigation season buttons
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Didn’t understand some context-specific questions
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Found the app intuitive
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Found some text hard to read
Round 3
3 American Farmers
Detroit, USA
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Interested in the idea but may not use it due to the abundance of water
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Found the app easy and intuitive
-
Gave feedback on future refinements
Visual Design: Iteration 2
Global Impact
