In rural India, women are trained as drone pilots for agriculture. But they also spray chemical pesticides. Could this technology be used in a better, less environmentally damaging way?
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Morni is the only hilly region in Haryana state, and it's where Ambika Rana lives.
00:08Her days begin early, so she can finish her chores in the morning.
00:15And then she heads to a cosmetic store that she runs, which also doubles up as the village
00:20drone centre.
00:24Ambika is the only woman in the district who is authorised to fly a drone.
00:29The villagers now call her Drone Didi, or Drone Sister.
00:35This happened because of a self-help group.
00:38Ambika is one of more than 10,000 women across rural India who are being trained as drone
00:43pilots for the farming sector.
00:47The central government initiative was launched in March 2024.
00:51The programme is being hailed as revolutionary, and women are at the forefront.
00:56Today Ambika is visiting a wheat field, where daily wage labourers normally carry out the
01:01tasks that her drone will take over.
01:05These can include monitoring the fields, spraying pesticides and sometimes sowing seeds.
01:11She charges up to 200 rupees, or the equivalent of 3 euros per acre.
01:18It's very difficult to work in the mountains.
01:21I have 4.5 acres of farmland, and it's tough for even two people to manage the spraying
01:26together.
01:27Virender has booked a slot with Ambika today to test the drone for spraying pesticides.
01:36Since the programme is still in the pilot phase, the service is being offered to anyone
01:40who might be interested in trying it.
01:45I have 4.5 acres of wheat.
01:48How much time will it take?
01:50One acre will take 15 to 20 minutes to spray.
01:59Based on the size of the farm, it would take 90 minutes for all 4.5 acres.
02:07If we had done it manually, it would have taken an entire day.
02:13I would have lost 5 or 6 hours.
02:19Currently, the costs of training, fertilizers and drones are being covered by some of the
02:24largest fertilizer manufacturers in the country.
02:27And not everybody is happy with the development.
02:32Including Professor Vinod Kumar Chaudhary from Punjab University.
02:36He believes the programme will increase the dependency on chemicals in the region, which
02:40is harmful for the land and its people.
02:46These drones will mostly be used to spray pesticides and fungicides, which are harmful
02:51to health.
02:52Earlier, when farmers used a tractor or a tank for spraying, they could spray under
02:56the plants.
02:57But drones will cover the entire area from above, so they'll miss the pests that tend
03:02to be hiding under the leaves.
03:04That means the chance the pests will be eliminated will decrease.
03:09And the use of pesticides will continue to increase.
03:12Even if you decrease the amount of chemicals, there will suddenly be an explosion of the
03:17pest population.
03:18According to Dr. Chaudhary, the increased dependency on chemical fertilizers and pesticides
03:25will inevitably work against the interests of the farmers, while generating more profits
03:31for manufacturing companies.
03:34Gradually, farmers will realize their overall costs are increasing.
03:39There's very little chance of something like this benefiting the farmers in the long run.
03:43The only beneficiaries will be the companies.
03:46It would have been better if drones were used to spray organic fertilizers.
03:52Organic fertilizers could help reduce the environmental and health impact, but there
03:56are still open questions.
03:58Who would pay for those fertilizers?
04:01Would there be enough for all the farmers who need them?
04:04And importantly, will this technology eliminate badly needed jobs?
04:10In any case, the drone program has already had some positive social impact.
04:19Some people in society look negatively at a woman if she steps outside of her home.
04:26They don't even care what kind of work she's doing.
04:30But since I've received the drone, the negative attitude towards people has turned much more positive.
04:39Self-help groups like these plan to train more women and help empower them.
04:44If the impact on health, the environment and on jobs is addressed, this program could be
04:49a huge support to the people who do the hard work of farming in India.