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{{Short description|Indian grassroots agricultural innovator, social worker and environmentalist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Abdul Khader Nadakattin
| image = Abdulkhader Imamsab Nadakattin (cropped).jpg
| caption = Nadakattin in 2022
| birth_date = 1953
| birth_place = [[Annigeri]], [[Dharwad district]], [[Karnataka]], India
| occupation = Grassroots agricultural innovator, social worker, and environmentalist
| years_active = c. 1970s – present
| known_for = Developing over 40 agricultural innovations for small and marginal farmers
| notable_works = Tamarind seed-separation device; seed-cum-fertiliser drill; water-heating boiler; sugarcane sowing driller; wheel tiller
| awards = [[Padma Shri]] (2022)<ref name="Padma2022">{{cite news|title=Dharwad farmer Abdul Khader Nadakattin gets Padma Shri for grassroots innovation|work=OneIndia|date=27 January 2022|url=https://www.oneindia.com/india/dharwad-farmer-abdul-khadar-nadakattin-gets-padma-shri-for-grassroots-innovation-3364137.html}}</ref>
| website =
}}
'''Abdulkhader Imamsab Nadakattin''' (born 1953) is an Indian grassroots agricultural innovator, social worker and environmentalist from [[Dharwad]], [[Karnataka]]. He is credited with more than 40 innovations that assist small and marginal farmers. His notable innovations include a tamarind seed separation device, a ploughing blade making machine, a seed cum fertiliser drill, a water-heating boiler, an automatic sugarcane sowing driller and a wheel tiller. In 2022 the [[Government of India]] awarded him the [[Padma Shri]] for his contributions in the field of grassroots innovation.

==Early life and education==
Abdul Khader Nadakattin was born in 1953 in the town of [[Annigeri]], located in the [[Dharwad district]] in the state of [[Karnataka]], India. Abdul was the only son of a wealthy farmer and had his formal education only up to the Standard X, he wanted to continue his studies but his father insisted that he discontinue his formal education and turn to agricultural activities.<ref name="Hubli">{{cite web |title=Son of the soil and inventor of new tech agriculture equipment that transformed-the-course-of-agriculture: Story of Annigeri's Abdul Khader Nadakattin |url=https://hubliexpress.com/son-of-the-soil-and-inventor-of-new-tech-agriculture-equipment-that-transformed-the-course-of-agriculture-story-of-annigeris-abdul-khader-nadakattin/ |website=Hubli Express |access-date=29 March 2022}}</ref>

=== First innovation ===

Nadakattin's first invention was a "Water Alarm" which he developed while still studying in school. He developed this device to help get up from bed early in the morning - he used to sleep late into the early hours of the morning. He tied a thin rope knotted to the end of the alarm key in a timepiece to a bottle of water in such a way that after the ringing of the alarm, water would fall on his face.<ref name="PIB">{{cite web |title=Grassroots innovator from Karnataka popular as ‘tamarind maniac’ selected for Padma Shri for Year 2022 |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1792952 |website=Press Information Bureau |publisher=Govt of India |access-date=29 March 2022}}</ref>

=== Innovations related to tamarind ===

Abdul Khadar Nadakattin had inherited about 60 acres of land from his father. The land was dry, rain was unpredictable and [[groundwater]] very scarce. Abdul Khadar Nadakattin decided to try alternatives to traditional practices. He started planting [[seedling]]s of [[mango]] trees, [[sapota]] trees and [[ber]] trees with chilli as an [[intercrop]] in a part of his land. Due to lack of sufficient water, the idea failed miserably as the seedlings dried out and died. Nadakattin did not give up and turned to planting [[tamarind tree]]s in large numbers. He observed that the tamarind trees can survive even in severely dry conditions. This turned out to be a turning point in his life. With much difficulty he could plant around 1600 tamarind plants and with proper care all of them survived. Inspired by the success of this experiment, Nadakattin planted 1,100 more tamarind plants. Growing tamarind with scarce but alkaline water was an innovation in itself.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Enthused by the initial success, Nadakattin took a series of steps to expand and strengthen his practices. He dug ponds to harvest rain water, constructed underground tanks to preserve tamarind pulp and began manufacturing value added products from tamarind such as pickle and jam. These products were marketed even in cities like [[Hyderabad]]. But he soon realized that the production of these value added products was labor intensive and so he conceived the idea of inventing machines which would help reduce dependence on human labor. This led to the development of several devices that could help processing of tamarind. One of the first such devices was one to separate tamarind seeds. The device had a system wherein due to the sliding action of the pegs that were tapered at the end, the seed gets thrown out of the tamarind pod. Another invention was a device for slicing tamarind intended for making pickles. Due to his craze for tamarind related work, local people even named him as ''hunase huccha'', which means "tamarind maniac".<ref name="NIF">{{cite web |title=Lifetime Achievement Award Abdul Khadar Nadakattin Dharwad, Karnataka |url=https://nif.org.in/upload/innovation/8th/Nadakattin.pdf |website=National Innovation Foundation (NIF) – India |publisher=Govt of India |access-date=29 March 2022}}</ref>

=== Other innovations ===
The many other innovations spearheaded by Nadakattin include:<ref name="NIF"/>

*A new kind of bullock drawn tiller capable of deep ploughing
*A machine for sharpening a tractor harrow blade
*A machine for sowing seeds of different sizes ensuring proper spacing
*A Water-heating boiler: It could heat enough water for bathing 20 people by using five kg of wood chips in about ten minutes. The device can keep the water hot for nearly 24 hours.
*An automatic sugarcane sowing driller

=== Establishment of a company ===

In 1975, Nadakattin established a company named the [[Vishwashanthi Agricultural Research and Industrial Research Centre]] in Annigeri, Dharwad in order to manufacture and market the agricultural equipment developed by him.

==Recognitions==

*In the year 2022, The Government of India awarded the [[Padma Shri]], the third highest award in the [[Padma series]] of awards, to Abdul Khader Nadakattin for his distinguished service in the field of grass root innovation.<ref name="PadmaShri2022">{{cite web |title=Padma Awards 2022 |url=https://www.padmaawards.gov.in/padmaawardees2022.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125143803/https://www.padmaawards.gov.in/padmaawardees2022.pdf |archive-date=2022-01-25 |url-status=live|website=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India |access-date=11 February 2022}}</ref> The award is in recognition of his service as a "Grassroots agricultural innovator from Dharwad, credited with over 40 innovations that assist small and marginal farmers across India."<ref name="PadmaShri2022Images">{{cite web |title=Padma Awards 2022 |url=https://www.padmaawards.gov.in/AwardeeTickets2022.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129172910/https://www.padmaawards.gov.in/AwardeeTickets2022.aspx |archive-date=2022-01-29 |url-status=live|website=Padma Awards |publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India |access-date=11 February 2022}}</ref>
*The Lifetime Achievement Award during the National Innovation Foundation-India’s 8th National Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Awards (2015)<ref name="Freepress">{{cite web |title=Who is Abdul Khader Nadakattin? Know more about Padma Shri award winner agriculturalist from Karnataka |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/who-is-abdul-khader-nadakattin-know-more-about-padma-shri-award-winner-agriculturalist-from-karnataka |website=The Freepress Journal |access-date=29 March 2022}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of Padma Shri award recipients (2020–2029)#Padma Shri Award recipients in the year 2022|Padma Shri Award recipients in the year 2022]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.nadakattin.in/index.html Website of Vishwashanthi Agriculture Research And Industrial Development Centre], a company established by Abdul Khader Nadakattin in 1975 to manufacture and market his innovative products.

{{Padma Shri Award Recipients in "Others" Category}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadakattin, Abdul Khader}}
[[Category:21st-century Indian inventors]]
[[Category:People in agriculture]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in other fields]]
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Abdul Khader Nadakattin - Revision history

Locweld at 12:19, 17 December 2025