Current Affairs 2022: Importance of Drones in the Agriculture Sector of India

Crop surveillance is the process of supervising the progress of the crop from the time the seeds are sown until the time for harvesting the crops.

Today the Agriculture sector is currently valued at USD 370 billion and is one of the prime sectors of the Indian economy. The finance minister has announced in the budget 2022 that the Centre will be promoting 'Kisan Drones' for helping the farmers in assessing crops and digitising land records. The finance minister has announced that the government would help in promoting start-ups through its 'Drone Shakti' initiative for facilitating the use of drones of service.

Drones in Agriculture 

Drone technology has gotten most of the recognition in the industry because of its diversity. Drones don't merely enhance overall performance but also encourage farmers to solve other barriers and receive plenty of benefits through precision agriculture. With the market for agricultural drones having reached a whopping $1.3 billion, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) have been used for filling the gap in human mistakes and problems that occurred by doing the traditional farming methods. The main objective of the adoption of drone technology was to exclude any speculation or obscurity and instead, focus on the most accurate and reliable information. Drones in agriculture can help in empowering farmers to adapt to their specific environments and make practical choices accordingly. The data gained from the drone help in regulating the crop’s health, treatment, scouting, irrigation, and also carry out analysis of the soil in the field and the crop’s damaged assessments. Drone survey can help in boosting crop yields and minimising time and expenses. 

Easy to Use Drone Technology

According to a recent study done by experts, they have predicted that the world population will be 9 billion by the year 2050. Naturally, agricultural consumption will simultaneously increase nearly by 70%. Drone technology, which has been equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Remote Sensing features, has been rising in demand because of its advanced technology and ease of use. Drone start-ups in India have used this opportunity for accomplishing better technological capacities. 

How do Drones help in Agriculture?

First, the drone analyses the area by establishing a boundary, and then finally, it uploads the technical GPS information delved into the drone's navigation system. Then by using the autonomous drones they enter into flight patterns that have already been established in the system for collecting the required data. Once the data is captured then all the required data is sent to sensors such as the multispectral sensor and then it is processed through numerous software for additional analysis and interpretation. After the data is collected, it is formatted so that the farmers can understand the data with no issues and in a simpler way, bringing them a step closer to precision farming. 

What is Crop Surveillance?

Crop surveillance is the process of supervising the progress of the crop from the time the seeds are sown until the time for harvesting the crops. This includes providing fertilizers at the right time, checking the crops for the pest attack and then monitoring the effect of the weather conditions. Crop surveillance is the only way that a farmer could ensure a timely harvest when dealing with seasonal crops. Errors obtained from trop surveillance help farmers in understanding and planning for the next farming season. The drones have helped in effective crop surveillance by inspecting the field of the farmers with infrared cameras and based on their real-time information, farmers can also take active measures for improving the condition of plants in the field saving the time invested in crop scouting. The drones containing multiple sensors enable capturing and analysing the data from the entire field. This obtained data helps in focusing on the problematic areas of the field such as infected crops or unhealthy crops, differently coloured crops, different moisture levels, etc. 

Advantage of Drones

- In addition to saving time and labour, technology has also helped in saving energy and fuel by enabling drones to plant trees and crops. It is expected that these cost-effective drones shall be used instead of huge tractors, as these tractors emit harmful gases in the air polluting the environment in the process. These can also be used for monitoring and managing the huge livestock as sensors in the drones have infrared cameras with high resolution, which can help in detecting the sick animal in the cattle and can swiftly take action. So, the impact of these drones on accurate dairy farming is soon going to become a new normal.

- Spraying chemicals and pesticides in the field can be very time-consuming, costly and tiring for the farmers. These Agri-drones can be used for spraying the chemicals as they possess reservoirs, which can be filled with fertilizers and pesticides to spray on the crops in a limited time.

- Drones prove to be effective in reducing the use of pesticides, insecticides and other chemicals. Sometimes, the overuse of chemicals can lead to the destruction of crops or cause harmful diseases to the consumers. These drones can even detect the minute signs of pest attacks and can provide accurate data regarding the degree and range of the attack. This can help the farmers in calculating the required amount of chemicals to save the crop.

- Drones help in providing accurate data in every stage of crop growth and reporting any variations before a crisis. Multispectral images captured in the drones have also helped in providing accurate information about small subtle differences between healthy and unhealthy crops which can be missed by the naked eye. 

About The Author

Amit Kumar Sharma is an Assistant Professor at Lovely Professional University. With ten years of experience in teaching organisational behaviour and HRM, he has also conducted 13 faculty development programs at the school level and two management development programs at the industry level.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely the author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha.