September 22, 2022, West Bengal: CropLife India conducted an awareness and training program on “Application of Kisan Drone Technology in Agriculture” in the state of West Bengal. The training and demonstration program was organized jointly with the Department of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute (SAMETI) of the Government of West Bengal.

The two-day training and demonstration program was held at Narendrapur on 15-16 September 2022; Swami Sarvalokananda, Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur; Shri Hrishikesh Mudi, Special Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Government. from West Bengal; being the guest of honor. Dr S. Chattaraj, Senior Scientist, NBSSLUP, ICAR, Kolkata, Dr Dibyendu Dutta, Former Scientist – Chief and Managing Director, RRSC-East, ISRO, Kolkata, Dr Damodhara Rao Mailapalli, Associate Professor, IIT, Kharagpur and Dr Manas Ghosh, Senior ATC and Director of SAMETI addressed the assembly. Besides them, present on the occasion were SAMETI officials, Krishi Vigyan Kendra scientists and extension officers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), member companies and other officials.

Shri Hrishikesh Mudi, Special Secretary, Department of Agriculture, Government of West Bengal, said, “With the introduction of Kisan drones, they are becoming Indian farmer’s new best friend which would save time , money and increase performance and productivity. The Central and State governments are taking all necessary measures to facilitate the use of drones.

During the program, CropLife India released its drone poster for quick reference and further dissemination.

CropLife India believes that with all the favorable policy support from the government, the enabling ecosystem needs to be nurtured to ensure faster adoption of drones in Indian agriculture. All ecosystem players – government, agricultural universities, research institutes, corporations, industry associations, drone training institutes, drone manufacturers, drone service providers, FPOs, farmers, agricultural and rural entrepreneurs, etc. will have to work in tandem to achieve this. Many agrochemical companies are exploring ways to improve farmer acceptance of their products. Therefore, in the future, the demand for custom models of drones as a service (agricultural applications and crop protection) is bound to increase by leaps and bounds.

Also Read: Soybean Influx to Mandsour Mandi Improves; average rate lower than last year but higher than MSP

(For the latest agriculture news and updates, follow Krishak Jagat on Google News)