India has an agrarian economy. Agriculture is the most prominent sector still it faces lots of problems like climate change, land degradation, resource depletion, etc. To tackle these problems, agricultural stakeholders are finding new avenues to make it a profitable profession. Youths are not finding it an interesting and attractive profession and discontinuing the legacy of farming. In the era of technological advancements, drones are creating a revolutionary impact in the agriculture sector too.
The drone is also called an unmanned aerial vehicle. Drones are remotely controlled aircraft with no human on board. The components attached to drones are a navigation system, Global Positioning System (GPS), multiple sensors, and high-quality cameras. Drones are a blessing for agriculture as it helps in crop spraying as it is cheaper, effective, and faster than human labor. It can help in identifying different issues with crops at different stages. It helps in tracking the moisture status of the field. It gauges the nutrient status of crops and soil. Additionally, it facilitates crop surveying and crop mapping. Drones also help in seed planting.
Therefore in a nutshell we can conclude that the use of drones can benefit agriculture in terms of precision farming, resource conservation, enhancing the production of crops, it provides evidence for crop insurance & facilitates faster decision making. Hence policymakers should plan a strategy to scale up the use of drones in agriculture and make it a profitable profession that will boost the income and uplift the socio-economic status of farmers
Dr. Smriti Singh
School of Agriculture
SAGE University, Bhopal
