Let me take up the example of a tree-climbing robot. I wanted to talk about it in the context of coconut harvesting and how this could be one of the catalysts for climate action at scale.
Sometime after I graduated college, I visited my hometown and heard my uncle’s concerns about the challenges with coconut farming due to a labor shortage. I wanted to help, so I dug into it and found that this issue extended far beyond his farm and was present across the globe.
The problem had several facets:
- There is a severe shortage of skilled labor for harvesting and pest control activities. The main reason is that it is too dangerous, and people no longer want to pursue it.
- Due to reduced climbs, diseases and pests spread in an unchecked manner, resulting in reduced yields. It also causes delayed harvests. Both of these decrease farmers’ income.
- In some Southeast Asian countries, the use of monkey labor has led to animal abuse and a decline in their populations in the wild.
Private studies and government surveys reached the following conclusions:
There is a need for an affordable and user-friendly coconut harvesting method that can be operated safely from the ground. While efforts have been made in this direction, none have succeeded in meeting all of the above conditions.
This motivated me to start a journey of research and prototype development. The path led to the creation of the tree-climbing robot prototype.
This is the current state-of-the-art solution – a tree-climbing robot developed by a PhD candidate at Hong Kong University in 2011.
The early-stage prototype I developed is twice as fast, three times more stable, and offers improved controllability and maneuverability. I firmly believe that with further research and development, this prototype can evolve into a game-changing product for the cultivation of not only coconuts but also other tree crops, potentially revolutionizing agroforestry. It addresses the demands of farmers at scale in India and other tropical nations by being an ecosystem-driven response, rather than intervening in their farming practices.
How can it play a role in climate action?
Direct Impact: By enabling coconut farmers to better care for their trees (e.g., monitoring for diseases, and applying pesticides and chemical inputs in a timely yet reduced quantity through precise spraying), the robot enhances tree health, elevating their carbon sequestration capabilities. This leads to improved yields, and on-time harvesting using this robot would augment farmers’ income and encourage more coconut tree planting or replanting. Furthermore, due to its lightweight and portability, the solution paves the way for integrated farming/multistrata agroforestry (as spacing requirements are reduced), thereby increasing farm productivity and biodiversity too.
Method of Deployment: This is the primary lens I am looking through. Sharing this product among multiple farmers represents the most effective utilization. This may involve local entrepreneurs adopting the tool to provide coconut harvesting as a service. With the support of the right backers, we could equip these entrepreneurs to become climate champions, akin to the Buzz Women initiative. Moreover, it allows us to make decisions prioritizing climate impact over income, for instance, opting not to deploy it in oil palm plantations.
The second point is why I strongly feel Rainmatter org would be the right partner. It would help in making climate-first decisions and provide an ecosystem to collaborate with other climate and social organizations present here.
I have not posted links to prototypes I developed publicly but have already emailed them to the Rainmatter org team. @Pai , @Sagar_Gudekote, Please let me know if I need to re-send the email or provide any other details. 
I would love to get any input, feedback, questions, or criticism about this! Thanks 
References –
- Labour availability in coconut cultivation and impact on technology adoption as perceived by coconut farmers [2013] Anithakumari, P -https://updatepublishing.com/journal/index.php/JPC/article/download/5817/5099
- Price policy for Copra 2023 - https://cacp.dacnet.nic.in/ViewReports.aspx?Input=2&PageId=37&KeyId=813’
- globalEDGE Blog: Has Animal Labor Gone Too Far? >> globalEDGE: Your source for Global Business Knowledge
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPGoWvKEOAw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeUoqLzqbXE
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sDkAPR0P2s
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn1gMQUxMug
- Robotic ‘Harvesting as a Service’ Proves Cost-Effective in Trials by Fieldwork Robotics
- Multistrata Agroforestry | Project Drawdown
- Coconut-based integrated farming could help sequester carbon, improve farm productivity: study
- https://www.worldwildlife.org/industries/palm-oil