Small DRE interventions can have a big impact on rural areas. One such example is the story of a CLEAN Network member. Read about how Pluss Advanced Technologies' simple installation of energy storage dryers enabled farmers in Meghalaya make more money while reducing food waste.
Spices, ginger, pineapple, banana, tomato, cashew nut, and oranges are among Meghalaya's top exports. Agriculture provides a living for around 80% of the people. Poor storage facilities, a non-existent transportation network, and intermittent energy in rural regions around the state have made it impossible for farmers to handle perishables, resulting in a loss of income. Farmers can save money by drying their horticultural product, but drying is an energy-intensive operation in and of itself.
With the support of CLEAN Network and the Meghalaya State Council for Science, Technology, and Environment, Pluss Advanced Technologies, a Haryana-based firm, intervened in 2018 to alleviate the problem of fresh agricultural food drying for these farmers. The firm first made contact with a few farmers in Balo. Farmers were ignorant of the revolutionary technology that were available on the market and were searching for a solution.
They were pleased when Pluss Advanced introduced them to Aagun (an energy storage-based, grid-independent solution). Aagun is a constant temperature drier that may be used to dry a wide range of items, including fish, fruits, cooked vegetables, fresh horticulture crop, cereals, and more. Solar energy is used as a renewable source of heat during the day, with the excess heat being stored in Phase Changing Material (PCM).
The concept was well-received by the farming community, and the effects were seen almost immediately after it was implemented. Pluss Sophisticated is a pioneer in energy storage devices like the Aagun dryer, which was made possible by using advanced PCMs.
The heat is stored in the form of thermal energy storage, which allows for continuous drying during the night and a consistent temperature range of 40-55 degrees Celsius. This continuous temperature range is accomplished without the need of power or fuel.
The Aagun energy storage drier has reduced drying time from 6-7 days to only a few hours. Farmers have been able to provide a wider selection of high-quality dried products to consumers as a result of this. The market value of such dry goods has grown as well. This has given farmers more negotiating power, preventing them from selling their land in hardship. The energy storage dryer intervention has created business prospects at the rural level by adding value to fresh product, in addition to giving breakthrough help in drying.
"Farmers are now receiving 5 times the price of fresh pineapple by selling dried pineapples. "Now, a single dried pineapple costs INR50 instead of INR10 for a fresh one," Andrew, who works as a Manager at the state government's Bolmoram Training Centre, explained.
Pluss Advanced Technologies is helping India meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by having a significant effect in the following areas: – SDG 2 – Zero Hunger – SDG 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy – SDG 13 – Climate Action
More adoption of such energy storage technology will go a long way toward reducing food waste, tripling farmers' incomes, and creating large-scale jobs locally.