The Varsha Rain Gun was innovated by Sri Anna Saheb, a 70-year old sugarcane farmer of Sadalga village in Belgaum district of Karnataka.
The Rain Gun offers attractive savings of 40-50 per cent in water used for irrigation.
Given the nature of the water crisis prevailing in the
country, this is the single most important feature of the rain gun
technology. Additionally, farmers realize savings in irrigation time, power
consumed for irrigation, and labor needed for managing irrigation.
Attractive as these savings are, many other benefits add to the technology's
merit. Irrigation with the rain gun helps fix atmospheric nitrogen, supports
trash mulching and preserves soil health. All this leads to more efficient,
profitable and sustainable agriculture.