Can Drones Bring Indian Agri ‘Bundles of Joy?

After receiving a nod from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for conducting drone trials in agriculture, many agri companies are raring to go and make Drones a mainstay for farmers, with big and small land holdings, alike. Currently Bayer CropScience, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coromandel International have already begun drone trials for crops such as paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and hot peppers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Realtime agronomic advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability are but a few promising deliverables of the versatile drones.

In August 2021, the MoCA and regulator DGCA allowed 10 organisations, including state governments and private companies, to use drones for a year. Those given permission include – Karnataka, National Health Mission (Mumbai), Gangtok Smart City Development project, Steel Authority of India’s (SAIL) plant at West Bengal’s Burnpur, Hyderabad’s Asia Pacific Flight Training Academy, Gujarat’s Blue Ray Aviation, Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bayer Crop Science, and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune. In December 2021, the Government had
released SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for drone regulation for pesticide application. It covered important aspects like statutory provisions, flying permissions, area distance restrictions, weight classification, overcrowded areas restriction, drone registration, safety insurance, piloting certification, operation plan, air flight zones and weather conditions. Traditionally it has been the farmer who
sprays his crops physically. Even with hired manual labour, this is a costly and timeconsuming affair. In the manual spraying method, a farmer generally spends a considerable amount on labour charges, more water and a higher quantity of chemicals. With drones, it takes only a few minutes to spray fertilisers and permitted pesticides on one acre as opposed to 5- 6 hours earlier. Also crops at any height can be effectively reached, as drones ensure comprehensive and equal distribution of fertilisers and pesticides. Drones can support more targeted applications of insect, weed and disease-control products. This ensures correct dosage and also limits the risk of accidental exposure to chemicals. Besides,drones also offer real-time agronomic advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability.

Bayer conducted its first drone trial at its multi-crop breeding centre in Chandipa, near Hyderabad. The on-ground event, showcasing a field demonstration on the use of drones in agricultural operations. Bayer has partnered with innovative drone startup, General Aeronautics Pvt Ltd and conducted several in-house and external R&D trials with universities and central research institutions to generate data to make drone-based services available to farmers. Based on the initial achievements of drone farming, growers may be able to explore the technology’s capabilities in aiding paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and plantation crops and harvests in the future. Bayer has been working closely with the Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Civil Aviation,
industry bodies, regulators, policymakers and drone manufacturers over the last few years to introduce a conducive policy framework for the implementation of drone technology in Indian agriculture.

Based on the initial achievements of drone farming, growers may be able to explore the technology’s capabilities in aiding paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and plantation crops and harvests in the future. Suchinnovations can shape the roadmap of sustainable farming in India, while spurring smallholder support and food security.D Narain, CEO and Managing Director, Bayer CropScience Ltd said, “Drone applications are operating in other small farmer countries in Asia and have the potential to deliver significant value to smallholders in India, as well as for the
economy and the planet.”

Aligning itself with the Government of India’s intent to promote drone use in agriculture, Coromandel International Limited, the country’s second largest phosphatic fertiliser player and part of Murugappa Group, conducted its first drone trials in Hyderabad. Commenting on the trials, Sameer Goel, Managing Director, Coromandel International Limited said, “The guidelines issued by the UnionMinistry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to make drone technology affordable to the stakeholders in the agricultural sector is indeed a major boost towards promoting precision farming in the country. Drones are especially suited for a country like India with small landholding farmers, since other modes of aerial application aren’t viable here. While bringing in an element of precision, drone spraying will also help farmers mitigate the issue of labour unavailability during peak season and decrease the time to spray. These trials are our first steps towards embracing this next-gen technology.”

The drone industry has gone through a paradigm shift in the last few months and the agri industry is one of the few industries to have received approvals to operate drones for farming operations, with new government regulations making deployment, design, development and manufacturing of drone technology easier. For drone technology to flourish, the government’s emphasis on drones for farming
operations can greatly benefit farmers, with promotion of drone usage from crop assessment to agrochemical/fertiliser spraying. Drones can be flown easily in green zones with almost all agricultural areas falling in the green zone.

New business opportunity
Also the AgTech sector is abuzz with increasing flow of growth capital into startups that play across the value chain from market linkage to financing to precision farming to mechanisation services. A fast-growing startup ecosystem is bringing new business models that seek to address several legacy challenges in the industry. Mahindra & Mahindra has started conducting drone-based agricultural trials, precision spraying on paddy, hot pepper crop in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. While informing about drone trials Hemant Sikka, President, Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra said, “Mahindra & Mahindra is already making drone services accessible and affordable through Krish-e, our Farming-as-a-Service business. New business models like drone rentals are providing drone services in India, opening many possibilities for the future.”

Sikka also added that a new business vertical, Krish-e provides digitally enabled services, across the complete crop cycle affordably and accessibly to farmers and includes advisory, access to equipment rentals and precision farming solutions. These are all focused on bringing down the overall cost of farming, improving crop output and consequently the farmer’s income.Drone tech adoption
Promotion of drone design, development, and manufacturing in India, specifically for Indian farming conditions will further help develop andboost adoption of the technology in the rural and agri sector. Apart from releasing new regulations, the Government has also announced the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme for drone manufacturers to promote India as a drone hub. The government has also allocated Rs 120 croreover next three financial years under PLI scheme, banning import of drones (component import is allowed) to promote the domestic production of drones, also making licences to operate drones easily available across the country.

To promote drone applications in agriculture, the Government has included drones under the SMAM (Sub Mission on Agriculture Mechanisation) scheme. Under the scheme, CHCs, village level entrepreneurs, FPOs will get the subsidy of 40 per cent up to Rs 4 lakh. Also CIB&RC (Central Insecticides Board & Registration Committee) has rolled out guidelines for registration of agrochemicals for drone spraying. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has also released the SOPs for spraying of agrochemicals and fertilisers.

After receiving approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for conducting drone trials in agriculture, agriculture companies
are hoping for an increase in penetration of drone technology in the agriculture sector. Companies are trying to promote drone technology by making drone services accessible and affordable
through providing access to equipment rentals and precision farming solutions to small-scale farmers. Currently Bayer CropScience, Mahindra & Mahindra and Coromandel International
Limited have started drone trials for crops such as paddy, corn, sugarcane, wheat, vegetables, fruits and hot pepper in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Since drones offer real-time agronomic
advisory to farmers, enhancing farm productivity and fostering sustainability, it has paved a way to new business opportunities in the agri industry in India.

Dipti Barve
dipti.barve@mmactiv.com

After receiving a nod from the Ministry