What Are The Uses of Drones in Agriculture in India?
Drones And The Indian Agriculture Industry
Drones have changed the landscape of agriculture in many ways as they enable access to wide areas and make managing these areas easier.
Drones are employed in the agricultural industry for a wide range of duties, such as spraying fertilizer, aerial surveillance, crop monitoring, land inspection, mapping, looking for damaged or rotting crops, and many others. Different drone kinds are being investigated to determine which has the most potential for farming, agriculture, and gardening.
Quadcopters and other multirotor drones are the finest options for fertilizing crops. Fixed-wing drones are perfect for fertilizing crops, but they are difficult to use because of their large structure and need for a large landing area.
Related Blog: Drone for Agriculture in India: All Farmers Need to Know
What Are The Challenges Agriculture Industry Faces Currently
The Indian agriculture industry and the farming community in India are one of the largest communities in the world. India is known for being an agricultural economy where a majority of the crowd and major people from different states are employed in agriculture.
Despite this, there are a lot of problems that the agriculture industry faces today’s day:
1.Food Security
A population that is predicted to increase from 8 billion people today to around 10 billion by 2050 will depend on the global food system to feed them with safe and nourishing food. In addition to additional mouths to feed, the demand for meat, fish, and dairy will increase as wages rise in rising and developing economies. Food production, however, is only one component of the food system. Millions of individuals also make they are living in the agro-food industry. Most individuals in extreme poverty worldwide reside in rural areas where food production is sometimes the most significant economic activity. Today, there are an estimated 570 million farms globally, and millions more labor in industries related to food.
2. Agriculture And Emission
Although 25% of greenhouse gas emissions currently come from agriculture, there are chances to combat climate change and feed more people as the world’s population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. Modifying the way agriculture is financed and encouraged will be one of the keys.
Our current food system generates US$12 trillion in hidden social, economic, and environmental costs each year, according to a report from the Bank that was released in September. The report also makes recommendations for how to break the cycle by implementing five food finance imperatives that will support the implementation of climate-smart agriculture.
3. A Growing Number Of People
The Bank examined how Asia’s rapidly expanding cities have included food systems in their development in March. In order to guarantee a plentiful and secure supply of food for citizens both now and in the future, more needs to be done during the planning stages, as evidenced by the report RICH Food, Smart City.
The Bank and FAO evaluated 170 growing Asian cities, and just 8% of those were considered to be “food-smart,” or actively working to maintain robust food systems.
How Drones Can Be Used To Address Some Of These Challenges
Drones are an exceptional invention when it comes to technology and is being used to solve underlining problems in various fields. Agriculture is one of the fields that heavily uses drones.
1. Surveillance
One of the ways to use drones in Agriculture is to conduct surveillance of the farm and ensure the farm has no invaders. This is especially important when it comes to cash crops since there are a lot of issues such as theft on the farm.
2. Spreading Fertilizers And Pesticides
Drones are being used in large farms to spread fertilizers and pesticides and it has been a boon to the industry. It saves a lot of time and also human effort.
3. Improving Cultivation
Drones have provided effective understanding and tailoring crop production in various areas by using technology and growing crops that would best suit global requirements and demand.
Uses Of Drones In Agriculture And Farming In India
Apart from the uses mentioned above, drones prove to be effective in various aspects when it comes to agriculture.
Here are some widely used drones applications in the agriculture industry in India:
1. Drones In Agriculture for Terrain Mapping
Terrain mapping is an important aspect of agriculture and drones prove to be very effective in the use of the same. Terrain mapping helps farmers and agriculture professionals understand and study the quality of land and also decide which form of the crop would best suit the land available.
2. Drones In Agriculture for Crop Mapping And Surveying
Corp Mapping is another important use of drones in the field of agriculture and can prove very effective in utilizing information to the maximum capacity. Especially with crop mapping and surveying agriculture professionals are able to manipulate the yield and also ensure that their efforts are in the right direction pertaining to various crops.
3. Drones In Agriculture for Soil And Field Analysis
Soil and field analysis play a huge role in agriculture and the yield of a crop completely depends on the quality of the soil. Technologically engineered drones are effective in gauging the quality of fields and soil which can help in taking important decisions such as which crop should be sown and if the soil has the capacity to support the seeds being sown.
4. Drones In Agriculture for Crop Monitoring
Imagine taking a year-round effort to grow certain crops and losing out on the crop due to heavy rains, or other external factors. Hard suns often dry out the harvest, which leads the farmers to heavy losses. However, if crops are monitored on regular basis, the farmer is enabled to make necessary changes and protect the crop from damage.
5. Drones In Agriculture for Plantation
Drones can be engineered to be more than simple surveillance tools. Technology has enabled us to develop crops that are sown by drones. Especially in large-size fields, this process takes up a lot of time. But with drones, it has become fairly easy and quick to sow seeds during the sowing season without any human intervention.
6. Drones In Agriculture for Livestock Management
It is needless to say that livestock management is one of the most difficult in agriculture. There are various issues that exist such as theft of livestock and killing. There are even cases when livestock is sent out to graze they get lost or wander off. In such cases, drones are extremely helpful and can help in ensuring that you are better able to manage your livestock.
7. Drones In Agriculture for Spraying Fertilizer and Pesticides
Large farms especially face problems when it comes to spraying fertilizers and pesticides. The process is both time-consuming and effort intensive. Hence drones are a simple solution to this problem. Drones can cover large areas and also ensure that there is digital data on all the areas that have been covered.
8. Drones In Agriculture for Check Crop Health
Drones can be effective in ensuring that your crop is in good health and is not affected by stay animals or other external factors. Drone technology has gone far and wide and there are special drones available that look into the health and betterment of crops.
9. Prepare For Weather Glitches
Drones are also effective in analyzing weather glitches and helping farmers prepare for any possible weather glitches that might affect their crop production. This also helps in preventing damage and ensuring that the effort and investments of the farmer don’t go waste.
10. Geofencing
Geo-Fencing is a virtual geographic boundary set through a Global Positioning System (GPS), or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, enabling a triggered alert when a device enters or leaves an area. The agricultural industry uses Geo Fencing technology extensively. For crop planning, planting, and harvesting to boost yield, it is frequently employed in agronomy. In beef grazing operations, Geo-Fencing Technology is used to track the location of livestock and to rotate them through grazing areas.
FAQs About Uses Of Drones In Agriculture
Now that we have developed an understanding of how drones are useful in agriculture, let us try to answer some frequently asked questions about the same.
Q1. How Are Drones Used In Agriculture For Small Farmers?
For small farmers, drones can be effective in livestock tracking and crop health tracking.
Q2. How Long Have Drones Been Around In Agriculture And Farming?
In the early 2000s, the first agricultural drones were created. In 1991, GPS devices for use in precision agriculture were pioneered by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. These systems were then modified for use on drones.
Q3. How High Can An Agricultural Drone Fly?
An agriculture drone can fly around 50 – 100m high
Q4. What Are The Best Weather Conditions To Fly A Drone Over A Field?
The ideal weather includes clear skies, little to no wind, mild temperatures, average humidity levels, and normal geomagnetic activity. The drone would fly satisfactorily under these circumstances, and its control and landing would be typical and simple.
Q5. What Distances Can Agricultural Drones Fly?
A single flight of the Matrice 100 can cover over 200 acres when equipped with a multispectral camera.
Q6. What Makes The Difference Between Images Taken By A Drone And Satellite Images?
While obviously operating at a much lower level than satellites, drones can operate at a much higher height than conventional land-based surveying methods. Drones offer photographs with a greater resolution than satellites, but it is more difficult to store such images on a wide scale.
Q7. Important Considerations For Those Looking To Use Drones In Agriculture
Some of the important considerations would be based on the suggested uses above, it is essential for farm owners to analyse the usage of drones for their farms. The size of the farm and the number of livestock.
Wrapping Up
Drones can be a huge aid to large-scale farmers and help reduce the time and effort that is being put into human-intensive procedures. It also makes surveillance easy and ensures the farms are safe and well looked after. Drones are like a one-time investment that ensures benefits for a very long time and are a good consideration.
Are You Looking for Agricultural Drones Services?
Would you like to buy a drone or are looking for drone services in India for your farmland? Get in touch with us today and let us help you optimize your farmland with technology.