Maharashtra’s agri-entrepreneurs take to the skies: How drone are being used tackle farm labour shortage

The Centre early last year had issued standard operating procedures (SOP) for usage of drones in agriculture aimed at mechanisation of the sector. Applications were invited for the subsidy, which was to be distributed after completion of documentation.

Given the fact that it was a new technology, the agriculture department had set a modest target for the first year. Thus, for the fiscal of 2022-23, a total of 38 drones (25 for CHC and 13 for agriculture graduates) was set as a target for distribution. As against this modest target, the department received a whooping 236 applications, of which, 102 were selected through an open lottery. Till date, nine drones have been procured and eight applicants have received their subsidy.

Chougule was the first in the state who received the drone in April. Since then, he said he has sprayed 50 plus acres of farmland around his area. “Mostly farmers have called me for spraying pesticides or insecticides over their cane and soybean,” he said.

Being an early adopter, Chougule is quick to point out various advantages of the machine. “Drones not only reduce time, but also reduce the amount of chemicals to be used,” he said. The droplet sizes which the drone sprays are in microns thus it enables efficient spraying. “In our area, farmers usually spray around 40-50 litres of common pesticides like  Chlorpyrifos, Cypermethrin on one acre. However, using the drone, the same area was covered in just 10 litres. The first question they asked me was if I had sprayed anything at all,” he said.

Drones are utilised for spraying fungicides like Carbondazim, Tebuconazole, herbicides like Metribuzin, Dichlorophenoxy, acetic acid  along with the above mentioned pesticide. Another advantage was the time — instead of around three to four hours to spray over an acre, a drone can finish the work in just 10-12 minutes. Most drone operators charge between Rs 500-800 per acre as spraying charges.

Twenty four-year-old Vivek Apte from Ranegaon village in Shevgaon taluka of Ahmednagar district is another drone-entrepreneur who took advantage of the state’s scheme.

It was in May when he bought his drone, and has since then sprayed over more than 100 acres of farmland. Coming from a family of large landholders, Apte’s family owns 35 acres, where they grow crops like cane, cotton and soybean. “Drones are more efficient than normal spraying. Thanks to the droplets which are in the size of micron, the chemicals form a thin film over the crop and thus diffusion is much better,” he said.

Both Apte and Chougule transport their drones in their cars.

Being early days, drones have some bumps which grassroot level users are quick to point out. The first bump which Chougule said was that drones, though easy to operate, require training. “On the face of it drones are easy to operate, but things can go wrong if settings change even slightly. Also spare parts need to be more easily available,” he said.

Another bump which entrepreneurs want the government and companies to address is to take steps to raise awareness about drones. “Young farmers have understood the advantage, but much more must be done for more people to accept it,” he said. Also SOP for spraying fertilisers is yet to be formulated by state agriculture universities.

Drones have found acceptance in sugar mills, with several mills having taken steps to ensure their farmers know about its advantages. Mills have also tied up with drone service providers to begin operations in their area. Mills in Sangli and Kolhapur have taken the lead in this matter.

For farmers this new mechanisation has come at a time when most of them are facing labour shortage.

Sachin Patil, a cane grower from Ambe village in Pandharpur taluka of Solapur district had employed a drone to spray 6 acres of his cane a month ago. “The operation was over within an hour. If I had employed labour it would have taken almost two days. Drones certainly help,” he said. Patil is also an expert director at the local Shri Vitthal Cooperative Sugar Mill, which has taken initiatives to hire drones to help its farmers.