‘Tamarind maniac’ from Karnataka to receive Padma Shri

Abdul Khader Nadakattin has developed a machine to slice tamarind

Abdul Khader Nadakattin, a serial grassroots innovator from Dharwad, Karnataka, is amongst the 107 Padma Shri awardees announced for the year 2022 in the others (Grassroots Innovation) category.

Nadakattin is a serial innovator and his prominent innovations include a device to separate tamarind seeds, a ploughing blade manufacturing machine, a seed cum fertiliser drill, a water-heating boiler, an automatic sugarcane sowing driller, and a wheel tiller. All his innovations demonstrate principles of sustainability, cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness, and most importantly social acceptance. His in-depth knowledge of agro-climatic conditions and soil characteristics has made him an inspiration to other farmers in the country.

He developed agri-technologies and implements which addressed a variety of needs for the local people while maintaining relevance with modern agriculture.

Owing to his portfolio of innovations related to tamarind, people started calling him ‘hunase huccha,’ which means tamarind maniac. It started with his success in growing tamarind with scarce but alkaline water and further graduated with experiments like the technique for harvesting tamarind from the tree and also the highly accepted machine to separate tamarind seeds. This inspired him to develop a machine for slicing tamarind. In furtherance of success with tamarind, he came up with innovations to address agriculture operations like deep ploughing, sowing of seeds, and also fuel-efficient water heating boiler.

Abdul Khader Nadakattin has developed a machine