Agri tech-off: Madhya Pradesh farmers queue up to buy drones
BHOPAL: Farmers of Madhya Pradesh, the country’s agri powerhouse, are aspiring to become drone pilots to take their farming to new heights.
In a sign of how farmers are eager to embrace technology, the suggestion for drone-assisted farming came up at a meeting of sugarcane growers With government officials. The administration was also mulling such a scheme, and the farmers’ demand fitted right into it, said an official.
Around 120 farmers have applied to the MP government’s directorate of agriculture engineering to be allowed to use drones. The government is scrutinizing the applications to see if any of them already has a drone licence from the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA). If they do, they will immediately get the green light for takeoff, said an official.
The government will subsidise the purchase of drones, as per central government norms, and even the cost of training.
There are certain norms for using drones for agricultural use. First, the farmer buying one should have a drone pilot license from DGCA and he/she should also have a passport,” joint director, directorate of agriculture engineering, Pawan Singh Shyam told TOI, confirming the 120 applications.
“We have not fixed any deadline so far. We will scrutinize the applications, and if any of the farmers are found to have drone pilot license, we will immediately help them in getting a subsidy. We will help train those who do not have a license,” he added.
Farmers to be provided subsidy to buy drones
The directorate has an MoU with Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy, Amethi, an autonomous body under ministry of civil aviation, to train farmers, Shyam said.
“The fee for training under the Mol is subsidized at Rs 30,000 per farmer. But farmers will need to pay only half of it. The government will bear the rest. For the training, we have infrastructure at the IT park in Bhopal where IGRUA experts will train them. We are also opening a training facility in Jabalpur and talks are on with Anna University to train farmers,” he said.
Once the farmers get the licence, they will be provided a subsidy to buy drones.The ministry of agriculture gives farmer producer organisations (FPOs) a subsidy of 75% up to Rs 7.5 lakh, women and SC/ST farmers get 50% subsidy up to 5 lakh and other farmers get 40% up to Rs 54 lakh.
“We constantly meet and interact with stakeholders. This demand came up at a recent interaction with sugarcane farmers. We told them that the process is already in place. Drones are helpful in hi-tech farming. It is an effective technology for sprinkling fertilizers and pesticides on crops. It saves time and labour and is more efficient, especially for large farms,” Shyam added. TNN
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