Constantly inspecting your fields is a very time-consuming and difficult task. Imagine if you were able to observe your fields from one sitting position instead of having to go to them. Sounds very interesting, doesn’t it? In today’s time, the development of technology has made daily tasks easier which has proved to be a boon for humanity.
Internet, smartphones, electricity, drones, robots, computers, etc. are some examples of developments in technology. To improve and facilitate agriculture, it is recommended to incorporate modern agricultural technology in daily farming activities. One of these agricultural technologies is the invention of drones. A drone is an aircraft that does not require a human pilot. It pushes the air downwards with the help of rotating blades which helps it to fly in the air.
Drones are being adopted in many fields including government, military, agriculture and filming etc. Drones help make everything easier, so they can be used in a variety of fields.
Drones can be used as a precision agriculture tool to analyze, monitor and perform farm management tasks like crop irrigation and medicine spraying with very little time and effort. When the right work is done at the right time and in the right way, the work becomes more efficient and effective, gradually saving time and money.
Some benefits of drones are given which will help the farmers to understand about drones.
Benefits of Drones Farming
- Crop monitoring – Farmers need to inspect the field regularly to protect it from weeds, pest infestation or critical conditions like heavy rains. To keep the land safe, the farmer has to personally go to the field and inspect everything, however by using drones he can inspect the surface even while being away from the field.
- Spraying of fertilizers – Every farmer wants to increase the yield of his crop and provide all the nutrients to the plants. To do this, farmers work hard to spray fertilizers, which can be done very quickly by drones. Drones can make the job much easier without wasting manure.
- Seed sowing – Drones also help in improved seed sowing. Earlier farmers used to sprinkle seeds all over the field, now drones can also do the same.
- Mapping – Mapping is done to make the entire agricultural land suitable for farming. This method is used for field mapping in many crops and aerial photographs of fields make it easier for farmers to do this difficult work.
- Irrigation – A farmer takes one day to irrigate 0.65 acres. It takes just 2 minutes to do this using a sprinkler drone. Incorporating drones into farming not only saves time but also saves water.
- Plant protection – There is a high loss of produce due to attacks by insects, germs and animals. For this, farmers need to always be alert and keep inspecting the fields, but with drones, this work will be easier and losses can be reduced.
- Increase in yield – As many agricultural practices such as sowing, irrigation and application of fertilizers become easier, the process becomes faster and more yield can be achieved in less time.
- Food security – Population and crop production are directly related to each other. To meet the demand, farmers will have to increase production in a short time and only technology can solve this problem. Drones are a way to increase productivity in less time because it offers the benefits above.
Government initiative to encourage farmers
To encourage farmers to incorporate drones in their farming practices, the government is providing 100% subsidy for agricultural drones to various organizations. The government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 10 lakh to ICAR, state-level agricultural universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and other institutions providing training to farmers.
- Farmer producer organizations like Farmer Producer Union can get 75% grant to demonstrate the functioning of drones.
- Additionally, customer hiring centers that assist farmers in renting equipment will be given a 50% subsidy including attachments and cost of the drone.
We believe that this revolution in the agro-industry will gradually increase the productivity of farmers, helping them enhance the harvesting process and crop life cycle. Incorporating drones into agriculture will make work easier, more cost-effective and set an example in the world of smart farming.