Gonda: Where there is a will, there is a way; this proverb stands true in the case of Uttar Pradesh’s Rajkumar Mishra, who, despite suffering from extreme poverty, created his own path to success. His father, Awadhesh Kumar Mishra used to run a flour mill, however, when he could not improve his family’s financial condition with his low income, Rajkumar decided to invent machines for crushing paddy and extracting oil from grains. 

On the path to innovation

This was during the time when the practice of using tractor mills for threshing paddy began in the rural areas. These mills were found in every farmer's household, and Rajkumar Mishra's business started suffering due to this. His financial situation was not strong enough to purchase a tractor mill and compete in the market. He ingeniously acquired an old Bolero vehicle, modified it, repurposed its engine and wheels to create a paddy threshing machine, and started offering door-to-door paddy threshing services in the village.

Running a threshing machine on Bolero

Rajkumar Mishra is a resident of Paska of Paraspur block of Gonda district in Uttar Pradesh. In the year 2021, he built his first paddy threshing machine from an old Bolero car. He modified the car and installed additional parts to make his machines more efficient. By 2022, he had made three more such machines.

A separate model was made for the narrow village roads. Since the invention of his machines, Rajkumar has been successfully running his business and making profits from it. 

A farmer’s friend

Rajkumar Mishra’s machines extract up to 70 percent of rice, making it a favourite among the farmers. He shares that he has learned from his experiences; when in 2011, his family’s work came to a halt, they made a machine of their own by using scrap parts from different objects. Presently, his machines are being sold in the markets on high demands. 

Receiving awards

Rajkumar Mishra was awarded with a sum of Rs 1 lakh for making the paddy threshing machines, by the Grass Root Startup category at Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University. In the past, he has also received a prize of Rs 10,000 in the state-level science exhibition.