TN Farmers spray, sow and soar into the drone age

K Thangaraj from Elamanur in the Andhanallur panchayat of Trichy stands at one end of his paddy field, eyes lifted skyward, intently tracking a drone that hovers above, spraying a fine mist of pesticides over his 2.5-acre field.

"This used to take hours," says Thangaraj, adding that a worker would spend a full workday trudging through the field, refilling the hand sprayer 18 times. "It now takes five minutes an acre."

A retired serviceman, Thangaraj says his ‘technological leap' is thanks to the Tamil Nadu govt's Uzhavan mobile app that connects them to service providers. "My costs for spraying, too, have come down by half from `3,000 per acre," he says.

This shift isn't just about convenience — it's about safety, minimising health risks for labourers who were exposed to poisonous chemicals during the manual spraying of pesticides. Drones are increasingly replacing manual labour too, automating tasks that once took hours.

Their precision in applying agrochemicals saves time and improves yields. With labour shortages rising, especially as more women are drawn to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for guaranteed wages, drones offer farmers a more practical solution.

Industrial estimates are that 1,500 drones are being used in agriculture in TN, which is one-fourth of the country's total.

The introduction of Drone Rules 2021 and Drone (Amendment) Rules, 2022, has streamlined drone pilot licensing and operations.

Govt schemes such as subsidies under the Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) and Namo Drone Didi (which offers an 80% subsidy for women self-help groups or SHGs) are bringing more farmers into the fold.

"Tamil Nadu is the birthplace of precision agri drones, and our farmers have been pioneers in adopting this emerging technology," says Agnishwar Jayaprakash, founder-CEO of Garuda Aerospace Pvt Ltd, a leading company in the agricultural drone sector. "These drones support farmers with land mapping, field preparation, field detection, crop monitoring, and accurate spraying of fertilisers and pesticides. It increases productivity by 30% while saving 70% of fertilisers, pesticides and water costs."

Six of India's 15 agriculture-drone companies are based in TN. "We train youth, farmers, custom hiring centres and SHGs as drone pilots," says Agnishwar. "We're seeing IT professionals and gig workers migrate back to villages, buying drones for better job opportunities."

Under the Union govt's SMAM guidelines, SC/ST, small, marginal, and women farmers can receive a 50% subsidy on Kisan drones, up to `5 lakh, while other farmers get 40% or `4 lakh, whichever is lower. The subsidy also applies to purchases through custom hiring centres. Since the last fiscal, 18 drones have been operated under the scheme, 25 more approved for distribution.

Farmers want the agricultural engineering department to provide one drone per village for pesticide spraying. "Drones help reduce labour shortages, but service providers charge fees similar to labour costs," says S Vimalanathan, secretary of the TN Cauvery Farmers Protection Association.

The Namo Drone Didi scheme, executed by the ministries of agriculture, rural development, and chemicals, promotes drone use in farming while empowering women through SHGs. Eligible groups receive 80% assistance (up to `8 lakh), with the remainder covered by a loan at 3% interest under the agriculture infrastructure fund. Members undergo 15 days of training, including drone piloting and pesticide application, with drones supplied by leading fertiliser companies.

"Skilled labour is scarce due to the tough conditions in the fields. Drones are the future," says S Annapoorani, a BCA graduate and SHG member using drones to spray nano urea in Gopichettipalayam taluk.

Under the Namo Drone Didi scheme last fiscal year, about 44 SHGs were provided with Kisan drones, and the TN Corporation for Development of Women monitors their use. If everything goes as planned, about 500 new SHGs will be roped in for drone operation this fiscal year.

State govt has formed a committee, led by the agriculture secretary, to oversee the scheme's implementation. This includes selecting crop clusters for drone use and training women from SHGs under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission as drone pilots and assistants.

The committee will also ensure business opportunities for SHGs in coordination with fertiliser companies. Pudukkottai, Coimbatore, Cuddalore, Chengalpattu, Ranipet, Namakkal and Erode are some of the districts that have been covered.

TN Agricultural University's standard procedures for drone pesticide spraying on crops such as paddy and maize ensure safety standards. The university also uses three drones at its colleges.

"Currently, drones are only used for spraying, but we aim to boost productivity with drone pollination. We're exploring this technology from an Australian university," says TN agriculture secretary Apoorva.

Since 2021, the Dr Kalam Advanced UAV Research Centre at MIT, Chromepet, headed by professor and director K Senthil Kumar, has trained more than 3,500 people as drone pilots. One-third are certified for agricultural drones, with 500 trained in partnership with the TN Adi Dravidar Housing & Development Corporation.

"TN will be a future hub of drones. Anna University is also helping by providing technology to manufacturers," says Senthil, who previously headed the state govt's TN UAV Corporation. "Our research team is also in the process of completing the final product for sowing seeds."

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