Context: Recently, Prime minister flagged off 100 Kisan drones in different cities and towns of India to spray pesticides in farms across India.

Key Points

• He virtually addressed to a group of farmers gathered at Manesar from where the “Drone Kisan Yatra” was flagged off.
• Kisan Drones will be used to boost the agricultural sector in the country. The use of Kisan Drones will be promoted for crop assessment, digitization of land records and spraying of insecticides and nutrients.
• This step was taken as the government aims to promote chemical-free national farming.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget 2022 speech that “Chemical-free Natural farming will be promoted throughout the country, with focus on farmers’ lands in 5-kilometre-wide corridors along the river Ganga in the first stage”.

Kisan drone

• It will have an unmanned tank filled with insecticides and nutrients. 
• The drones are expected to have a high capacity of 5 to 10kg.
• The drone will spray the same amount of pesticide on about one acre of land in just 15 minutes. 
• The drones have been manufactured by Chennai-based Garuda Aerospace, a home-grown start-up. 

Expected implications of the move

• This will save time, will require less effort and spraying will be done uniformly.
• They will also be used to carry vegetables, fruits, fish, etc to the markets from the farms. 
• These items will be supplied directly to the market with minimal damage, consuming lesser time, resulting in more profits to farmers and fishermen.
• The development of these drones on a large scale is expected to bring new employment opportunities for the youth. 
• Kisan drones will be used for crop assessment, digitization of land records, and spraying of insecticides and nutrients.
• Kisan Drones will be used to boost the agricultural sector in the country, the use of Kisan Drones will be promoted for crop assessment, digitization of land records and spraying of insecticides and nutrients.
• This step was taken as the government aims to promote chemical-free national farming.
• Kisan Drone will usher in a new edge revolution as high capacity drones will be used to carry vegetables, fruits, fishes to the market directly from the farms. "These items will be supplied directly to the market with minimal damage, consuming lesser time, resulting in more profits to farmers and fishermen,"
• The development of the drone market in India will generate fresh employment and new opportunities for the youth.

Significance/ Benefits of Drone Technology

• The drones will be used for mapping, disaster management, land survey, mining, monitoring of works, and agricultural pesticide spraying among others.
• It will also check indiscriminate use of pesticides as drones ensured uniform spraying covering every inch of the crop. 
• The drone could determine how much pesticide the crop required for a given crop size.

Widespread adoption: The subsidized purchase of agriculture drones for CHCs/Hi-tech Hubs will make the technology affordable, resulting in their widespread adoption.

• This would make drones more accessible to the common man in India and will also significantly encourage domestic drone production.

Enhanced Production: The farmer can improve production capabilities through comprehensive irrigation planning, adequate monitoring of crop health, increased knowledge about soil health, and adaptation to environmental changes.
Effective and Adaptive Techniques: Drone usage results in regular updates to farmers about their crops and helps develop strengthened farming techniques.

• They can adapt to weather conditions and allocate resources without any wastage.

Greater safety of farmers: It is safer and more convenient for farmers to use drones to spray pesticides in terrains challenging to reach, infected areas, taller crops, and power lines. 

• It also helps farmers prevent spraying the crops, which leads to less pollution and chemicals in the soil.

Faster data for quick decision-making: Drone surveys back farmers with accurate data processing that encourages them to make quick and mindful decisions without second-guessing, allowing farmers to save the time invested in crop scouting.

• Less wastage of resources: Agri-drones enable optimum usage of all resources such as fertilizer, water, seeds, and pesticides.
• Accuracy: The drone survey helps farmers calculate the precise land size, segment the various crops, and indulge in soil mapping.

Useful for Insurance claims: Farmers use the data captured through drones to claim crop insurance in case of any damages. They even calculate risks/losses associated with the land while being insured.

• Evidence for insurance companies: Agricultural insurance sectors use Agri-drones for efficient and trustworthy data. They capture the damages that have occurred for the right estimation of monetary payback to the farmers.

Key Challenges

• Initial Cost: Mostly, agricultural drones used for surveying have fixed wings and may cost very high based on features and sensors necessary for executing their intended use.
• Connectivity: Online coverage is mostly unavailable in arable farms. Under such a situation, any farmer intending to use drones has to invest in connectivity or buy a drone with local data storing capability in a format that can be transferred and processed later.
• Weather Dependent: Under windy or rainy conditions, flying drones is not easy, unlike traditional aircraft. Drones are weather dependent.
• Knowledge and Skill: An average farmer cannot analyze drone images as it requires specialized skills and knowledge to translate them into any useful information.
• Misuse: There is a chance of misuse to infringe the privacy of people and illegal transfer of information.

Road Ahead

• The digital revolution is touching every sphere of life and hence it is high time to bring agriculture in its ambit.  The drones would go a long way in addressing the acute labour shortage faced by farmers, especially paddy growers and the government needs to frame policies, install infrastructure to keep a tab on the drones and put in place policies for opening up the sector.