In a significant stride toward gender-inclusive agricultural mechanization, the Bhubaneswar-based ICAR–Central Institute for Women in Agriculture (ICAR-CIWA) extended dedicated technological support to 50 women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in Puri district on Monday, deploying indigenously designed Pedal-Operated Women-Friendly Coconut Dehuskers. The deployment, which encompasses 19 villages across 11 Gram Panchayats in Satyabadi, Brahmagiri, Kanas, and Delanga blocks, is poised to uplift more than 500 women farmers, with concerted priority directed at empowering Scheduled Caste agrarian households.

Coconut cultivation underpins coastal Odisha’s rural economy, yet dehusking has long remained an arduous bottleneck relegated to primitive, hazard-prone methods. For generations, women laborers have relied on machetes and fixed iron spikes to pry open stubborn fibrous husks—an exhausting ordeal characterized by recurrent palm lacerations, severe musculoskeletal strain, and chronic occupational fatigue. ICAR-CIWA’s pedal-operated innovation re-engineers this equation through targeted ergonomic design, leveraging lower-limb mechanical advantage to curb physical exertion, keep hands safe from sharp blades, and sharply elevate processing throughput per hour.

To guarantee seamless adoption, the rollout was paired with comprehensive hands-on training sessions conducted directly with the beneficiary collectives across the four blocks. Women farmers underwent practical, guided drills to master operational calibration, safety protocols, and routine maintenance of the machines, ensuring immediate self-reliance in post-harvest processing.

Emphasizing the transformative impact of the initiative, Dr. Mridula Devi, Director of ICAR-CIWA, underscored that mechanization must be tailored to women's ergonomic needs rather than treating them as an afterthought. She noted that mitigating workplace hazards and drudgery is essential not only for safeguarding health and dignity, but also for unlocking agricultural productivity, augmenting household incomes, and fostering sustainable rural entrepreneurship among women collectives.

Swadhin Shakti Prasad/Manoj Kumar Jali

 

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