To surmount the shortage of farm labour and rising labour charges, some progressive farmers are trying to harness the drone technology to find a lasting solution to their recurring problems in every cropping season.
Nunna Lenin of Proddutur village in Chintakani mandal was among several farmers of the mandal, who hired a drone to spray pesticide in their fields to protect their standing maize and redgram crops from pests.
Mr Lenin, who holds a Bachelor's Degree in Arts, engaged a hired drone from one Sai Kiran, a trained drone pilot of Sattupalli, for pesticide spraying.
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The skilled drone pilot executed the task almost effortlessly in less than an hour in Proddutur on Tuesday, sources said.
Enthused by the accurate spraying of pesticide in quick time, several other farmers followed suit and utilised the drone services by paying the hire charges of ₹500 per acre the same day.
As the news spread, a few tech-savvy farmers of Vandanam village in the same mandal hired the drone for pesticide spraying in their village.
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“We have gained first hand knowledge about the manifold advantages of using drone in spraying pesticides, says Mr Lenin.
Our village is known for farmers endowed with progressive ideas and scientific bent of mind, he says, adding that the drone hired by him completed the pesticide spraying in his two-acre maize field with precision, saving time and labour cost significantly.
No pesticide exposure
The drone technology has the potential to not only reduce the quantity of pesticide used for the purpose manually, but also save farmers from pesticide exposure, he remarks.
The government should promote application of drone technology for agriculture purposes through Krishi Vignan Kendras (KVKs) to enable farmers harness the technology optimally at a subsidised cost, suggested a farmer of Vandanam.
A field demonstration of drone sprayer was conducted in Proddutur village to highlight the efficacy of ultra low volume spraying of pesticide using drone having multifarious advantages, said P Nagaiah, Mandal Agricultural Officer, Chintakani.
“We have used a drone specially designed for pesticide spraying without cameras to educate farmers about the application of drones for a wide range of agriculture purposes apart from protection of crops from groundnut to coconut,” says Mr Sai Kiran, the trained drone operator.