Bullet Santi: the story of helping fellow farmers

Mansukhbhai Jagani telling about the features

of the Bullet Santi.

The livelihood of farmers depends on their ability to cultivate and sell the harvest. Agricultural practises are shifting globally from manual labour to machines and even the farmers living in remote villages in India are not spared from this transition. This was the theme of our second field visit, during which we met the innovator of Bullet Santi, Mansukhbhai Jagani, and three farmers using this multi-purpose agriculture machine.

The interview took place in the workshop of Mansukhbhai Jagani, where he showed us his innovations and told about his journey that let to innovating Bullet Santi and what happened after that. Mansukhbhai uses a Bullet motorcycle – hence the name – and transforms it into a vehicle that looks like a tractor. The uniqueness of the Bullet Santi is that a huge variety of attachments can be added – for example for harrowing, sowing and shallow ploughing, but also a trolley with can carry up to 1600 kg of goods.

Mansukhbhai told that his aim was to develop a machine that would have the technology to replace labour. Initially, he wanted to develop it only for himself, but then the scouts of Sristi found him. Sristi, established in 1993, is a key organization that supports grassroots entrepreneurs. So, with the support of Sristi, the initial plan expanded and now farmers in many villages use Bullet Santi’s widely. Manuskhbhai still does not want to have a big business but is satisfied with helping fellow farmers to improve their farming. And indeed, while we were driving in the area, we saw many Bullet Santi’s driving on the fields.

Adding attachments to the Bullet Santi.

Besides interviewing Mansukhbhai, we also talked to one user from the same village and with two users living in a village around 20 km from Mansukh Bhai’s home. It does not sound like a long distance, but the roads were in such bad condition that it actually took us up to one hour to reach the other village. From the cotton farmers in the other village we learned a lot about the user experience, the entrance of competition to the market and a comparison of different manufacturers. It also clarified the timeline of the development of the Bullet Santi, the information flow from one user to another and the reasons to buy a Bullet Santi. The question was not so much affordability but the users actually thought that it is much better than a regular tractor. We also learned that poorer farmers could rent the Bullet Santi for a day from those who could afford owning one.

The people in this other village were very happy to receive us. It turned out not many foreigners have come to this village and apparently I was the first foreigner these people had ever seen. Therefore, we were welcomed with open arms and offered water and chai – like is custom in India. It was a good visit for my research but the warm welcome and genuity of the people we met made it a memorable experience.