Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday released standard operating procedures (SOP) for the application of pesticides using drones for 10 crops including rice, wheat, cotton and maize.
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday released standard operating procedures (SOP) for the application of pesticides using drones for 10 crops including rice, wheat, cotton and maize.
Officials said that drones help in optimum use of soil nutrients and pesticides; there are reports of farmers saving around 20% of their cost of application and reduction in health hazards associated with manual spraying.
“Drone technology has been accepted by the government in the agriculture sector, and in reducing the cost of agriculture and avoiding the side effects of pesticides, farmers will get extensive benefits from drones,” Tomar said while releasing the SOP.
Agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Thursday released standard operating procedures (SOP) for the application of pesticides using drones for 10 crops including rice, wheat, cotton and maize.
Officials said that drones help in optimum use of soil nutrients and pesticides; there are reports of farmers saving around 20% of their cost of application and reduction in health hazards associated with manual spraying.
“Drone technology has been accepted by the government in the agriculture sector, and in reducing the cost of agriculture and avoiding the side effects of pesticides, farmers will get extensive benefits from drones,” Tomar said while releasing the SOP.
Last year, the agriculture ministry had released standard operating procedures for the use of drones in pesticide and nutrient application.
With the civil aviation ministry relaxing the relevant rules, a clutch of firms, including IoTechworld Aviation and Garuda Aerospace, have firmed up plans to manufacture and sell such drones for farming.
Source:financialexpress.com