Agri-drones to women SHGs will help modernise farm sector: Experts

PTI, Aug 15, 2023, 4:22 PM IST

Cooperative major IFFCO and industry players on Tuesday said the government’s decision to provide agri-drones to women self help groups will go a long way in modernising the farm sector through use of latest technology.

Addressing the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 15,000 women self help groups (SHGs) would get agri-drones, as well as training for operating the unmanned aerial vehicles and repairing them.

IFFCO MD U S Awasthi termed the announcement a great example of women empowerment.

He said IFFCO is also purchasing 2,500 agricultural drones as a spray solution for Nano liquid urea and Nano DAP.

Secretary General of industry body Assocham, Deepak Sood said the decision has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to women empowerment, ease of living and leveraging the power of technology for holistic development.

Use of drones is catching up among farmers for spraying of pesticides, nano-fertilizer, and crop management.

Agri-drone maker IoTechWorld Avigation co-founder and director Deepak Bhardwaj said the decision will revolutionalise India’s agriculture landscape.

”It is likely to speed up adoption of drone technology in the field of agriculture and will lead to substantial employment generation and agri-business opportunities in rural areas,” he said.

Anoop Upadhyay, who is also co-founder and director of IoTechWorld, said India is witnessing adoption and promotion of technology like drone in the agriculture sector by agro-chemical companies.

Preet Sandhuu, MD of Gurugram-headquartered AVPL, which is into drone business, also welcomed the announcement saying it will empower women and boost application of drones in the farm sector.

The use of drone has some distinct advantages such as high field capacity and efficiency, less turnaround time and other field operational delays, and wastage reduction of pesticide and fertilizers.

Earlier this year, the government had released crop specific ‘Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for the Application of Pesticides with Drones.’ For purchase of drones on individual ownership basis, the government provides subsidies.