- Spowdi Stories India
Falji Bhai: From Barren Land to a First Summer Harvest
- March 25, 2025
In some food-producing regions, it is common for farmers to leave their fields barren in the summer since high temperatures and little rainfall make it close to impossible for them to cultivate during that time. This has previously been the reality for Falji Bhai, a small-hold farmer in Gujarat, India.
Falji Bhai used to flood irrigate his two-acre farmland, which earned him an average crop yield and income. During the previous harvest season, he earned about 3,350 rupees from an area of 500 m2 with these practices.
When Falji Bhai installed his Spowdi Smart Farming system, he did so on 500 m2 of his farmland. Suddenly, he was able to grow crops also during the summer, making it possible to generate an entire additional harvest during a period that he previously believed to be close to impossible. In addition to adopting Spowdi’s precision irrigation system, he also decided to embrace multi-cropping, cultivating watermelon, cucumber, eggplant, and okra in two different zones. The transformation of Falji Bhai’s farming proved to be highly profitable, earning him a crop yield of 800 kg and 13,600 rupees in net earnings. That is a hefty increase of about 10,000 rupees compared to the previous season.
The table below illustrates how expanding the Smart Farming system to an entire acre could help Falji Bhai become even more profitable. Find out more about how Smart Farming has transformed the farming of Falji Bhai and other small-hold farmers like him in our impact reports.
| Smart Farming | Scale up scenario | |
|---|---|---|
| Land Size | 500 m2 | 1 acre |
| Crop yield | 800 kg | 6,400 kg |
| Earning from harvest | 14,700 rupees | 117,600 rupees |
| Cost of production | 1,100 rupees | 8,800 rupees |
| Net earnings | 13,600 rupees | 108,800 rupees |
Discover other Spowdi stories
Small-hold farmers play a crucial role in driving an agricultural evolution that is fossil-free and regenerative. Spowdi’s fossil-free irrigation system enables them to secure higher crop yields, greater profitability, and with it, greater independence. Read more about Spowdi adopters and ambassadors below.
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As one of the SEWA sisters who participated in the first Train the Trainer programme, Bhavnaben was also one of the first to try Smart Farming in India. Previously, she used flood irrigation on her farmland, where she grows fennel, castor oil, and cotton. Like many other farmers in the area, Bhavnaben used an electricity-driven pump to withdraw water from a nearby well, which made her highly dependent on an…