Name : Somabhai Kanabhai Gamar
District & State : Sabar Kantha, Gujarat
Category : Herbal products
Award : Consolation
Award Function : 5th National Grassroots Innovation Awards
Award Year : 2009
Innovation Description
Stem borers are the most serious maize pests that damage the crop and reduce the yield considerably. Somabhai (50), an illiterate but creative farmer from Sabarkantha has developed an herbal formulation to control the stem borer.
Somabhai lives with his wife and four sons in Moti govandi village, located 13 km away from Khedbrahma, taluka headquarter. The village is predominantly backward with very low literacy level. Almost all of the villagers practice agriculture. Being a rain fed region, crops like maize, cotton and pulses are grown during the monsoons, while rain fed gram is cultivated during the winter.
Using the traditional implements for farming, Somabhai cultivates maize, wheat, mustard and pulses in his 4 ha of calcareous and clayey land, which has little irrigation facility. He has been involved in traditional farming since he was 15 years of age. During the summers, due to unavailability of work in his farm, he works as a labour in other farms.
http://nif.org.in/innovation/Herbal_Preparation_-to_-Control_-Maize_-Stem_-Borer/43