In India, farming is a major profession in Rajasthan as well. And the problems that plague Indian farmers are both well-known and well covered.

What often gets lost in the flood of tragic stories, are the rays of hope that emergence, through the power of technology and innovation.

One such attempt is the Eco-Black Tank, crafted by Vansh Sharma and Yash Jhalani from SRN International School, Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Hailing from a village in Rajasthan, Vansh would often visit farmers in the area and speak to them about the problems that they face. After gathering enough information, a key issue the team decided to address is drought.

Farmers face drought almost every year in Rajasthan, and most of the crop dies due to a lack of water.

“We went on ground and interviewed farmers and found out that almost each of them wanted high yield, but did not have enough water resources. Due to that, some of them were using too much chemical fertilizers to increase crop yield. That’s when we thought we should find a solution that would be organic and reliable,” says Vansh.

After a few months of research, they came up with the ‘EcoBlack Tank’ method.

In this method, farmers are taught to spread a dark sheet over their topsoil. The sheet helps regain the fertility of the soil and increases soil water retention by 3-4 times. It is a tried and tested method that is sure to benefits thousands of farmers.

“Our innovation is currently at a prototype stage. We are working to create a proof of concept within the school premises by testing this in our school’s farming area. The
results and insights gained are promising. We hope to bring this to the consumer market soon, enabling farmers to multifold their yield,” says Yash.