Drones are here to change the face of Indian agriculture

Agriculture has always been a prime source of income for a majority of Indian rural population. More the produce, more we can export, which contributes so much for the Indian economy. The gap that needs to be filled in terms of demand and quality is huge as the indian agriculture lacks in  technology adaptation. Crop failure, unpredictable weather conditions, pests and many other factors are effecting our agricultural production. It’s heart breaking to see Indian farmers struggling to cope up with these scenarios.

Now imagine, What if the farmers can detect the crop failure in advance? What precautions can be taken to protect the crop from the weather fluctuations? What if the farmers can detect and kill the pests before they destroy the crop? If all these can be done in the most efficient way possible, then there will be a definite spike in the efficiency.

Agriculture and Drones in India so far,

Drones or UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), which were originally developed in the 1800s as weapons have evolved many folds. This means, drone technology is not new, the concepts of drones has been around and just that we are seeing them more in the civilian world now. There are many companies that are trying to make these devices available and affordable to Indian farmers.

Govt of India is extremely inclined towards the drone technology,

On 26th January 2022, the Government of India has released a certification scheme for agricultural drones, which states that one can now carry a payload that does not include chemicals or other liquids used in spraying drones. Such liquids may be sprayed by following applicable rules and regulations.

On 23rd January 2022, Government of India has offered a 100% subsidy or 10 lakhs, whichever is less, up to March 2023 to promote the use of drones for agricultural purposes and reduce the labour burden on the farmers,

Additionally, a contingency fund of Rs.6000/acre will also be set up for hiring Drones from Custom Hiring Centres (CHC). The subsidy and the contingency funds together will help the farmers access and adopt this extensive technology at an affordable price.

On 16th November 2020, the Indian government granted the International Crops Research Institute (ICRISAT) for the usage of drones for agricultural research activities. With this move, the government hopes to encourage budding researchers and entrepreneurs to look at budget-friendly drone solutions for more than 6.6 lakh Indian villages.

How can Drones help Indian Agriculture grow?

Drones can change the face of the indian agriculture like never before, only if it is operated/handled in the most efficient way. Though there are so many advantages or the value that these drones carry with them, the ultimate goal is to be efficient and affordable.

Here are a few self explanatory advantages of Drones in the agriculture sector,

- Crop Monitoring

- Weather Alerts to avoid crop wastage

- Fertiliser Spraying

- Soil and Field Analysis

- Optimising chemical usage

‍

There is tons of research happening behind the scenes to build the best mobility solutions in the agriculture sector by leveraging drone technology. A handful of government bodies and companies are involved in exploring these opportunities via drone technology for Indian farmers.

In the recent past, we have also witnessed many techies quitting their corporate jobs to venture into agriculture. This is a positive sign that the penetration or adaptation of the technology will be happening in a smoother way.

The game changer

Building robust drones that are easy to manoeuvre is definitely a need, but the real deal lies in the algorithms or the applications that we develop around these drones usage. Since the audience in the agriculture sector are not that tech-savvy, the operation of these drone should be extremely user friendly.

The most advanced drones in the agriculture sector might not be available at the moment, with loads of features and applications, but this is definitely a moment to make a switch. This switch can help the researchers and organisations to identify those practical pain points which can help them build much viable drone solutions.

At Marut drones, we always focus on building solutions for those problems that are complex, unexplored, unsolved, vivid and most importantly problems that are frequent. And there is no sector better than agriculture that can throw these many challenges constantly.

You can directly write to the founder at prem@marutdrones.com if you are interested in building a solution for your agricultural needs.

‍