Rationale
Nutri-test: Assisting subsistence farmers in recovering from drought, fire and heatwaves.
In August of 2010, Europe experienced a heatwave of unprecedented magnitude. During this period, Russia suffered the most severe temperatures. The impact of the heatwave was accentuated by the drought conditions which Russia had been experiencing since late June 2010, and the emergence of numerous wildfires across the country. It is typical that heatwaves are accompanied by wildfires and drought, as these disasters are highly related.
The real-time effect of the extreme temperatures must not be understated. During the heatwave, an estimated 55,000 people died from heat related illness. However, the major obstacle to recovery came from the fires and drought It is estimated that as much as 30% of Russia’s crop harvests were destroyed by fire and drought. This had placed an immediate strain on food supplies. Buckwheat, a staple of the Russian diet, was severely affected. As a result, Russia froze all exports of buckwheat du to fears that domestic supplies would be insufficient to meet domestic demand.
As this assignment was focused on providing assistance to people in developing countries, I focused on the needs of subsistence farmers. Unlike Australia, subsistence farming is still relatively common in rural Russia. These farmers rely on their farmed crop as their primary source of food. As such, the devastation of the fire and drought had an even more extreme effect on subsistence farmers than the general Russian public.
My design was focused on assisting the farmers in recovering from this devastation as quickly as possible, with as little cost as possible. My research highlighted that extreme temperatures alter nutrient levels in soil as well as affecting acidity levels. This poses a particular problem to subsistence farmers as no information is readily 
available on local soil conditions. The nutrient levels and soil acidity both play a tremendous role in the success of crop. By providing a simple method of evaluating these conditions a farmer could save money from avoiding unnecessary fertilisers, as well maximising recovery crop yields by planting suitable crop.
Existing methods typically require laboratory assistance which is not available to subsistence farmers. DIY kits currently involve complicated titration processes and are generally accompanied by pages of instructions, which again are not suited to the education or skill set of subsistence farmers.
The Nutri-test deals with these issues by using simple litmus paper. The item is disposable, and packaging is minimal, which saves on production costs and transport costs. The instructions, and results are all provided in pictorial form, which allows for anyone to readily understand the application and results of the test.
Hey Greg, good effort on your part in attempting to create a product that will assist farmers. Though i am left wondering where are your posters? The illustrations you've shown are super awesome but you could have maybe laid it out in a portrait format so that people will understand and see how to use it. Think instruction manuals for dummies, haha
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a soil contamination is great and all, but i think one of the main problems was crop growth and the amount needed to recovery farmers loses over the fires.
Sure, i understand soil contamination devices go a long way in testing which is good and bad soil but why think short-term. Why not create a product that will be more helpful in the long run instead of a product that has to be constantly disposed of after use.
So why not a DIY kits that will either help accelerate growth of a crop or maybe a device that yes, can test for soil contamination but also the measure the growth or indicate when the crop may be harvested. That way you can ensure that the farmers will constantly 1) use the product, 2) will rely and keep on using it in the long term. Theses are just some ideas whacking around my brain =]
Overall i think your idea is great but it could have been more refined a bit more as well as gone even more in-depth into how the products overall feasibility.
Keep up the good work!! As my tutor would always say RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH, haha, i think that's been drilled into my head far too many times. Understand the ups and downs of your product from feasibility of it to your target market. You've done good work. Keep at it!!
Hi Greg,
ReplyDeleteYour idea seems great in that it prevents farmers from unnecessarily planting crop in infertile soil; saving farmers precious money, crop and time. I would like to see how the product tests the soil and also how the product is used to test the soil to give me a greater understand of your product. Great and usual product.
Hey Greg,
ReplyDeleteI dont know much about farming, but I like how youve designed this to assit victims to re-build their lifes. Like Danielle said, with this product, it could save the farmers a lot of time, effort and money in planting on bad soil. It would be even greater if your product is re-usable. On the other hand, I think theres a need of a bit more instructions on the package on how it works. Good thinking thou, using only diagrams, as your user group might not be able to read.
Great design!
Really like your simple solution to the farmers' problems. and really unique direction of thinking (of the farmers instead of the people who suffered from heat related illness). nice!
ReplyDeleteAnd you have successfully designed a very economical product, 100% suitable for the poor farmers.
One recommendation is that apart from just telling the farmers what they can plant, may be it's also a good idea to inform/educate the farmers about the pH of the soil, allowing them to take appropriate action to increase/decrease the nutrient levels. so they're not restricted to only planting those crops that suits the *current* soil nutrient levels.
Interesting product, and also very helpful, especially in the aftermath of a disaster. I am abit confused by slight details on the posters, regarding the procedure, but thats probably just my confusion. congratulations man.
ReplyDelete