Satellite-driven technology, big data analytics, and digital solutions are helping farmers in many countries today make more informed cropping decisions with regard to weather, soil nutrient application, and pest and disease control. The use of drones can have a major impact on our farms by spraying of agrochemical products, and this needs quick government intervention.

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Benefits of using Drone technology in Indian agriculture:

• Increased efficiency and precision of agrochemical applications, in turn, leading to improved pest management and crop productivity as well as a significant reduction in operator exposure during spray operations.
• The field capacity of drone-assisted spraying is about 20 times higher than that of manual spraying.
• The other benefits are lower water consumption (as the material is sprayed in concentrated formulations) and the development of licensed applicators.
• These include community spraying professionals who may provide application services to farmers similar to combine harvester operators, thereby creating new skilled employment potential in rural India.

Challenges faced by Indian agriculture sector:

• fragmented landholdings.
• lack of adequate market access
• rising costs (especially of human labor)
• poor/below par yields in most crops
• low usage of modern technology relative to their counterparts in the US, Europe, Brazil, Argentina or China.

Measures needed:

• The government, both at the Centre and states, must respond in a timely manner through a sound regulatory framework, so as to prevent uncontrolled and inappropriate use.
• The focus should be to minimize the potential risks that come with the unfamiliarity and rapid adoption of an emerging technology.
• The steps in establishing a robust policy framework is to identify the various risks associated with drone application and the processes to deal with them.
• These cover the specifications for the drones/UAVs and the agrochemical formulations being used, the capabilities of the spray operators and training standards, and environmental variables.
• Based on these, a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) should be put in place for spray operators, drone manufacturers and agrochemical companies to comply with.
• The necessary regulations should take into consideration (1) civil aviation laws (both local and umbrella) and the setting of vehicle specifications, (2) SOPs and piloting requirements for safe use, and (3) product approvals and permissions for spray operations.
• setting up a system for certification or licensing of drone operators to ensure their capability for piloting the UAV machines safely.
• Such certification/licensing should be subject to regular renewals and conducting of refresher courses.
• The authorities should also accredit training facilities to put in place a standardized programme for all agricultural drone operations.
• India can learn from China, Japan in use of UAVs for improved pest management and crop productivity.

Conclusion:

It would be in the interest of farmers and even the industry if UAV/drone technology can be deployed for agrochemical applications. This should be supported by a robust and pragmatic science-based policy framework, with Japan’s revised guidance document serving as the most suitable point of reference for drafting our regulations.