Drone is not limited to spraying pesticides, there is tremendous scope in organic farming too: Government

Indore. Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday that the utility of drones in the agriculture sector goes far beyond spraying pesticides and there is tremendous scope for its use in organic and natural farming as well. The drone industry in India has grown 6-8 times in the last year and a half. He said that India aims to become a global hub for drones by the year 2030, for which an industry friendly policy including ‘Production Linked Incentive Scheme’ (PLI) is in place.

Addressing the media on the sidelines of the first meeting of G-20 agriculture representatives here, the Union Minister said, “Don’t look at drones with a narrow vision. The versatility and variety of drone use as a service is far greater.” The use of drones in agriculture should not be limited to just spraying pesticides. He said that it can be used for digitization of land maps and survey of agricultural land. Scindia said, “Drones can also be used tremendously for organic farming. Even natural farming has tremendous scope for use of drones.” The government is promoting organic and natural farming on a large scale to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and conserve land. Madhya Pradesh is currently leading in organic farming. At present, the use of drones in agriculture is allowed only for spraying pesticides. Stating that many more uses would emerge in the future, the Union Minister said that there are many uses of drones.

He said that the Prime Minister’s resolve is clear that India can no longer remain a follower and the country must be a leader in uncharted territories of the world. Drones is one such area. He said that to achieve the goal of becoming a global hub for drones by 2030, the government has adopted a three-pronged approach. Firstly, the government has made a strong policy by removing some cumbersome rules and ease of doing business. In a very short time, digital mapping of drones has been done in Red, Green and Yellow zones in the country. Secondly, the government has come up with PLI scheme to promote the drone industry. He said, “For the first time the PLI scheme was brought for this industry, which was in its nascent stage.” He said that the PLI scheme for drones includes an incentive of about Rs 120 crore for the industry, which is expected to be of size 2021. I had only Rs 60 crores. The minister further said that the PLI scheme has yielded “very good results” as many companies have registered and the size of the industry has increased 6-8 times in the last year and a half. Third, the government is creating demand for drones and has identified 12 ministries, including agriculture, for mandatory use of drone technology.

The three-day program of the first G-20 Agriculture Deputy Heads of Agriculture Working Group (AWG) meeting will conclude on February 15. It deliberated on four key priority areas namely food security and nutrition, sustainable agriculture with climate smart approach, inclusive agricultural value chain and digitization of food supply systems and agricultural transformation. The next meeting of the G-20 Agriculture Working Group is likely to be held in Chandigarh, Varanasi and Hyderabad.

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