Drones in Agriculture: Technology-Enabled Solutions for India’s Farming Problems?

The modern farming sector is at a turning point. Farmers now have more tools than ever to improve process accuracy and efficiency thanks to the development of more advanced farming techniques such as precision agriculture, farm automation, greenhouses, vertical farming, and others.

Agricultural drones are one of these technologies on the surge, and can be used to:

✅ Create real-time maps of fields
✅ Monitor environmental and crop conditions
✅ Assess plant health, cropping process, crop yield & productivity
✅ Manage weeds, insects, and diseases
✅ Spread micro-granular pesticides and fertilisers
✅ Plant new forests

40+ drone start-ups in India are currently engaging with farmers to enhance technological standards, scales of operation, and productivity at affordable prices.

According to a FICCI and EY report, India’s drone market was estimated to touch a whopping $885.7 million by 2021, while the global market size would be around $21.47 billion (approximating only about 3.8%).

However, drone applications are limited in India due to the cost of drones, operational policy, and the limited availability of technically trained pilots in the drone market. Hiring an urban drone team to conduct a remotely located small field survey is expensive for any assessment or crop planning at the grassroots level.

Like other commercial drones, agricultural drones have short flight durations, ranging from 20 to 60 minutes, due to their relatively higher payloads. As a result, each charge can cover only a small area of land. Accessibility to electricity in remote villages is also a matter of concern.

The majority of agricultural drones used for surveying have fixed wings and can cost up to $25,000 (Rs. 20 lakh) depending on features and sensors. The initial cost is proportional to the payload and flight duration capacities.

Drones, unlike traditional aircraft, are also difficult to fly in windy or rainy conditions. All drones are affected by the weather. There are additionally the possibilities of misuse to infringe people’s privacy and illegal transfer of information.

Urvara Krsi has undertaken Drone-mounted spraying of pesticides and fertilisers to avoid chemical contamination in export-oriented crops in one of our R&D projects. During this project, we learned that drones have considerable potential in carrying out several agricultural operations very efficiently.

We think drone technology is fantastic. However, high initial costs, difficulty of operating on small farms, and policy reforms are the challenges to making it popular and farmer-friendly.

Urvara Krsi deployed drones in an R&D pesticide spray project in 2019 for an agro-industry player, working with farmers in contract farming of a specific crop. A small area is planted by individual farmers (usually under 1 acre) and in a 5 km area we may have only 5 acres.

In this scenario, our pilot project in 2019 did not achieve the desired results. Yes, expense is an issue but many other operational issues arose alongside. But technology has improved since then and wew would be interested to hear from those working with drones.

Approximately 80% of India’s farmers are classified as small & marginal farmers, so unless these are grouped for one crop there will be several crops in small farm areas. We found that drone-enabled pesticide spray is viable for a minimum of around 20 acres of single-cropping due to the higher costs.

The upside: Water and pesticide quantity can reduce by as much as 50%.

The downside: Storage capacity is 8-12 litres so, depending on crop foliage and other factors, at least 2 or 3 refills will be required per acre. But the soil definitely receives less pesticide and farmers will have no direct contact, impacting both soil and farmer health positively. We did not use organic pesticides.

Some other operational issues faced:

• Physical movement of drone (dismantle and assemble) from one place to another place in the field.
• Unavailability of electric charging point in the field.
• Difficulty operating under trees and high-tension electrical lines.
• Drones do not work in high wind velocities (max wind speed 15 km/hr).

Observing the progress already made, we believe further improvements will reduce costs in the coming years to make drone operations viable for small farmers, allowing the technology to have a greater impact.

Urvara Krsi

Urvara Krsi promotes sustainable and environment-conscious cultivation of niche agricultural crops and agroforestry. We engage in the production & supply of high-quality planting stock and technology to farmers, and are a leading agricultural raw material provider to agro-based industries.

Incorporated in 2019, Urvara Krsi currently operates in four states of India: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. We have three (3) main Business verticals, viz. Commercial Agroforestry, Cultivation of Agricultural crops in contract farming models, and Agricultural Consultancy.

Through our B2B consultancy services, we cater to companies looking to enhance their farmer network, strengthen their R&D, and experiment with new crops and geographies by enabling clients to collaborate closely with local communities to identify new crops, launch pilot projects, and set up dedicated, cost-effective cultivation programs.

Urvara Krsi acts as the opportunity bridge between small-holder farmers and industrial buyers exploring new geographies with backward linkages through farmers’ networks.

To partner with Urvara Krsi, or to learn more about what we do, please Contact Us.