Drones To Be Used In Indian Agriculture

The Union Agriculture Ministry has released financial guidelines to stimulate the use of drones in agriculture by assisting with the purchase, hiring, and demonstration of agricultural drones. This is an initiative to encourage farm mechanization as India is largely behind its' more developed counterparts.

The potential of Indian agriculture has not been fully realized following the lack of machinery employed in the farms. The Indian farms would be able to do more and perhaps more sustainably with the introduction of more farm equipment.

Under the "submission on agricultural mechanization" (SMAM) system, ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, and State agriculture colleges can get up to 100% of the cost of drone procurement, or Rs.10 lakh. It provides grants to Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) of up to 75% of the cost of obtaining a drone. Grants and financial help will be available until March 31, 2023.

Implementing agencies that hire drones for demonstrations will receive a contingency expenditure of Rs.6000 per hectare. Implementing agencies that purchase drones for drone demonstrations would be eligible for a contingent expenditure of Rs.3000 per acre.

Forty percent or up to Rs.4 lakhs of grant financing for drone purchase to existing custom hiring centers set up by Cooperative Society of Farmers, FPOs, and Rural entrepreneurs, according to Smit Shah, head of the Drone Federation of India.

Agriculture graduates who open Custom Hiring Centers would be eligible for a subsidy of up to Rs.5 lakh to help them buy drones. The state government will submit ideas for drone acquisition for consideration by the scheme's executive committee for funding distribution, the instructions stipulate.

With a standard agriculture drone model costing between Rs.8-10 lakhs, this step has effectively made agricultural drone acquisition almost cheap for large agri-research and agri-training institutions.

Following that, these institutes will host demos across the country to promote the usage of agri-drones. The purchase of agri-drones by FPOs, CHCs, and agri-entrepreneurs will be subsidized, making them more affordable, resulting in wider adoption... This will make drones more available to the general public in India, as well as stimulate domestic drone manufacture, according to Smit Shah.