German chemical giant Bayer has started the commercial use of drones for crop protection in India, Krishak Jagat reports.
The drone services would be introduced in phases for use by corn, cotton, rice and soyabean smallholder farmers in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and other regions, the 14 October report said.
In addition, the move would benefit farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and progressive farmers by providing opportunities to village entrepreneurs running Better Life Farming centres and others interested in using drone services for their enterprises to offer solutions to smallholder farmers, Krishi Jagat wrote.
As part of the service, Bayer would offer machinery, crop and product expertise, business support and training.
“We welcome the Government’s encouraging efforts to develop drone technology ecosystem for Indian farmers and allow commercial usage of drones for crop protection purposes. This is a positive step toward sustainable agriculture and for enhancing smallholder farmers’ prosperity.”
“We are committed to bringing about a positive change by advancing digitisation and mechanisation in agriculture to spur food security in the region,” Simon-Thorsten Wiebusch, country divisional head of Bayer’s Crop Science division for India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, was quoted as saying.
Apart from their use in crop protection, drones can be used for a range of agricultural purposes, including spraying, mapping and surveying.
