Unati Agri & Marut Drones kick off ‘Drone Yatra’ to educate 15,000 farmers

New Delhi: Unati Agri Allied and Marketing Multi-State Cooperative Society Limited (UAMMCL) and Marut Drones have kickstarted the first phase of ‘Drone Yatra’ in multiple districts of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, with the aim of driving awareness and encouraging drone technology adoption amongst farmers in the states.

The Drone Yatra will focus on educating and encouraging farmers in the Paddy, Wheat, Potato belts, other popular crops in the sates of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh about the benefits of drone technology. Starting in Una district, this 15-day yatra will cover 2 districts in Himachal and 1 in Punjab, concluding in Hoshiarpur, on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The Marut-Unati team will engage with over 15,000 farmers, providing daily demonstrations in 4-5 villages across 5 hotspots to raise awareness about drone technology.

Farmers are generally burdened with heavy debt due to the high costs of labor, fertilisers, agrochemicals, and the time-consuming process of spraying on farmlands. There are unpredictable weather patterns, including irregular rainfall, disrupt crop cycles and negatively impact yields Additionally, rapidly declining groundwater table due to the cultivation of water-intensive crops like paddy is also becoming a point of distress for the states. This grassroots level initiative aims to offer a sustainable solution to these pressing issues by creating awareness on how drones can enhance crop monitoring, reduce input costs, and improve productivity. The yatra has generated strong interest among farmers, who raised pertinent questions about the effectiveness of drones as compared to traditional methods of spraying. In addition, there was considerable interest in government subsidies to help farmers adopt drone technology.

“The Drone Yatra initiative is inspired by Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra which gained momentum across the nation to raise awareness through outreach activities and achieve saturation of various schemes launched by the Government of India. The Yatra was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 15, 2023 from Khunti, Jharkhand with multiple Information, Education and Communication (IEC) vans launched simultaneously from various locations across the country. By January 25, 2024, the Yatra covered over 2.60 lakh Gram Panchayats and 4000+ Urban Local Bodies across the country. The Yatra has reached the farthest corners of the nation creating awareness about the Government’s welfare schemes. This initiative ensures that these social welfare programs reach every individual in the nation, even the most remote. On similar lines we are making our humble contributions”, said Prem Kumar Vislawath – CEO and Co-Founder of Marut Drones.

He further added, “The demonstrations by Marut Drones and UAMMCL will directly address the key challenges faced by farmers, such as labor shortages during peak spraying seasons. We have been getting a great response during the demonstrations, the farmers are amazed to see the reduction in water usage during spraying, which is 95% less compared to manual spraying. The work is done without even entering the field. The spray from drones is very precise, and the pesticide droplets do not fall in the soil, ensuring the soil remains non-toxic, fertile, full of nutrients and, preventing pesticides from entering the farmer’s body. Our aim is to educate farmers on how drones can dramatically reduce water usage – from 170 liters per acre to just 10 liters. Farmers in these states have also struggled with spraying nano fertilizers across large farmlands, a process that manually takes 2-2.5 hours per acre but can be done in just 8 minutes with drones. By leveraging central government schemes and the resources of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACs), we aim to maximize the potential of these organizations, enabling them to support farmers in achieving better returns on their agriculture produce.”

Jyoti Saroop, Founder of UAMMCL, stated, “UAMMCL has been conducting meetings and demonstrations with PAC Secretaries to discuss the role of PACS in advancing drone technology adoption among local farmers of Himachal and Punjab.”

Following the completion of the Yatra in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, the second phase of the yatra will commence towards the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

In addition to the Drone Yatra, UAMMCL and Marut Drones have advanced drone pilot training by establishing the ‘Unati Marut Drone Academy’ Talwara, Punjab. This first-of-its-kind RPTO in rural Punjab aims to empower the local community and promote rural entrepreneurship and addressing neighboring states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.