“During my grade school days, I remember the adversities of my mother in the manual planting of corn to support our education ” uttered the inventor in a casual meeting.
Engr. Delfin C. Cuevas is a registered electrical engineer who has worked in major pipe mill and solar companies in Kenya and East Africa. However, after migrating to Canada at the age of 30, he met one of the biggest challenges in his professional career— falling short of standard to practice engineering in the country.
To continue providing for his family, he alternated working as a janitor in the morning and studying at night until he became an industrial electrician which allowed him to land a better job. Later on, he received a certificate as an Industrial Millwright— a professional who operates industrial machineries in construction sites, factories, and power plants. He worked his way until he obtained a Power Engineer Certification.
In his spare time, Engr. Cuevas loves to ideate leveraging his knowledge in electronics and automation. “My love for invention started as a pastime, but later, I got hooked to it, and now it has become my hobby and passion,” Engr. Cuevas said.
After working as an OFW for 33 years, he decided to return to his hometown in Brgy. Ipil, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro to take care of his 97-year-old mother. Also, he started to design a machine that is projected to create a significant impact to local farmers.
Remembering the hardships encountered by his mother in planting corn drove Engr. Cuevas to create a technology that can mechanize planting. Called a “6-row Mutli-Grain Precision Seeder with Fertilizer Applicator,” the technology allows cost-effective and efficient planting of grains such as rice, corn, mung beans, and sorghum. It has a built-in fertilizer applicator that simultaneously dispenses the fertilizer along with seeds at a certain distance that will not affect seed germination. It is equipped with a leveler which flattens the soil before dispensing seeds and fertilizer.
