Trained under Drone Didi project, women expect income boost

Under a flagship programme of the central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to train 15,000 Drone Didis across the country

A 40-year-old, Mandeep Kaur Pannu, from Barundi in Ludhiana, trained as a drone pilot under centre’s NAMO Drone Didi project, is enthusiastic about a good (her maiden) rabi season as she has begun offering her services, commercially spraying fertilisers and pesticides on farms. Hailing from a farmer’s family, enterprising Pannu is part of a self-help group (SHG) where she was motivated by a team of the GT Bharat HDFC Parivartan to enrol for drone pilot training, rolled out last year by IFFCO (Indian Farm Forestry Development Cooperative) at Manesar in Haryana’s Gurugram.

Drone Didi Simranjit Kaur at Marewal village in Ludhiana on Sunday. (Hindustan Times)

“After a 15-day training under the master trainers of IFFCO in Manesar, I started my commercial venture to offer service to spray nano urea and fertiliser on about 150 acres of paddy and sugarcane around my village. I charged ₹300 per acre and it was a unique experience to become a part of an ambitious tech-driven venture to boost women’s participation in agriculture,” she says.

She hopes to get orders to spray farm chemicals on 600 acres of potato and wheat fields in the coming weeks. The cost of insecticides/pesticides to be sprayed is borne by the farmer while the Drone Didis charge ₹200-300 per acre, she adds.

Under a flagship programme of the central government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced to train 15,000 Drone Didis across the country, ushering in a tech revolution in the agriculture sector by spraying fields with drones, thus cutting the cost of manual labour while saving time and water.

Battling the teething problem of hesitancy by a section of farmers to use liquid nano urea, Drone Didis say the project is helping rural women get a chance to earn.

Sharing her experience, another Drone Didi, Simranjit Kaur, from Marewal in Ludhiana says the centre’s initiative has opened a path for women to work in fields with modern technology. A 24-year-old, Simranjit, who holds an M.Sc degree in physics and works in the village to promote best farm practices, says it was a proud moment to be part of the handful of Punjabi women who got training in flying drones to meet the new-age demands of the agriculture sector.

“A drone takes seven minutes to complete a farm chemical spraying exercise on two acres. IFFCO provided us with a kit comprising an e-vehicle and a power generator along with a drone for free. Farmers’ hesitancy for a new technology is understandable and I was able to dispel their doubts through demonstration. I am confident to get more clients this rabi season,” she says.

A resident of Chak Sahu in Faridkot, Rajveer Kaur says the unmanned vehicle has the potential to change the agricultural scenario. “I was provided a drone with two batteries by the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL). I covered nearly 60 acres in the nearby villages of Jalalabad and Guru Harsahai in Fazilka district but faced difficulty as a set of two batteries can only cater to four acres,” adds Rajveer, who is also an SHG-trained woman to prepare manure.

Another enterprising volunteer from Malout in Muktsar, Kulvir Kaur, who also works as a Krishi Sakhi, a central programme to promote natural farming, says Drone Didis need the support of an e-rickshaw. “Women trained under the NFL’s ambit face problems in transporting drones to fields. The drone’s propellers are sensitive so it needs an aide to be carried on a two-wheeler. A section of drone pilots, under the central government’s scheme, get e-vehicles for easy mobility and we have raised the matter with the NFL management,” she adds.