After experiencing the utility of vending machines of milk, water, coffee, tea, soft drinks and ice creams the citizens of Hyderabad, particularly those interested in cultivating vegetables as a hobby in their home gardens and garden pots, can now purchase quality vegetable seed from a vending machine!
With a view to encourage urban vegetable farming in the home gardens, terrace gardens and pots in urban areas the Department of Horticulture has installed an Automatic Seed Vending Machine (AVSM) in the Public Gardens, at the entrance of the nursery there.
The seed vending machine is attracting passers by and the visitors to the Public Gardens and other offices located there including the Legislative Assembly and Council of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States.
Resembling an ATM, the automatic seed vending machine has in its belly (displayed) 20 varieties of vegetable seed available for Rs. 10 and Rs. 20 per packet in the quantities ranging from 10 grams to 50 grams, based on the market prices of the seed. A visitor could know the price of particular seed packet by pressing the number displayed below the variety on the small electronic display board and get the choice of packet by inserting currency notes and coins of all denominations from Re. 1
“The AVSM is an intelligent apparatus as it detects fake currency notes and returns change if we put a note of higher denomination than the specified price of a required variety of seed packet. It also sends an SMS to the department if anybody tries to tamper with it or damage it,” Deputy Director (Public Gardens) B. Vijaya Prasad told The Hindu explaining the salient features of the seed vending machine.
Asked how the idea of installing the automatic seed vending machine had come to their mind, Mr. Vijaya Prasad stated that they had come across it while surfing the internet once. Later, on enquiry they had found that the Calicut University in Kerala had installed several such machines in urban areas there to popularise home-vegetable farming and there was good response to the service.
“Further enquiries led us to a Chennai-based firm Future Technologies, the manufacturers of AVSM, and after getting administrative nod we have placed order for one AVSM costing Rs. 2.5 lakh as a demonstration,” Mr. Vijaya Prasad said adding that the department had plans to install such machines in all market yards, Rythu Bazaars, important bus stations in districts once the demo proved successful. Mr. Prasad stated that they had sold over 1,000 vegetable seed packets through the AVSM in about a month’s time so far. They were procuring the seed from National Seed Corporation.
It detects fake currency notes and also returns change if we put a note of higher denomination than the specified price. It also sends an SMS to the department if anybody tries to tamper with it, says B. Vijaya Prasad , Deputy Director (Public Gardens)
Source : The Hindu