Marut Drones enters Tamil Nadu to service small farmers

CHENNAI: Marut Drones is making headway in TN with an aim to create 500 drone entrepreneurs by the year end.

By using drones for spraying fertilizers, farmers can potentially earn up to Rs 50,000- Rs 60,000 per month.

With approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for manufacturing small and medium drones, Marut Drones aims to expand its dealer network in the state and educate farmers by training them in drone operation. This initiative is expected to attract young individuals to pursue agriculture as a profession and become drone operators.

Marut Drones is also collaborating with Annamalai University to provide drone training. Farmers with bank loans for Marut agri drones can also be entitled for a 6 per cent interest subsidy under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.

The Tamil Nadu farming community has been trying to overcome long-standing challenges like labour shortage, climate change-specific pest attacks such as rice stem borer, which attacks paddy crops in the Samba and Kuruvai season and the brown plant hopper that attacks high-yielding paddy varieties.

Rising temperatures and low rainfall have dried up groundwater in the key agricultural regions like Thanjavur-Tiruvaru, leading to increased costs and lower yields. The adoption of drone technology among small-scale farmers will not only help in precision-spraying, but also reduce water and fertilizer application by 70 per cent, increasing the yield by 30 per cent, as per a release.

Farmers in Tamil Nadu are embracing drone technology for cultivating six major crops - paddy, pulses, millets, and sugarcanes. The drone technology is being seen as an effective measure by farmers in Coimbatore for cotton cultivation.

While the drone technology is also being actively promoted by organisations such as the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, local gram panchayats and farmer cooperative societies in the state, the adoption among farmers is still in its early stage.

Founder-CEO Prem Kumar Vislawath highlighted the company’s milestones and future plans for TN saying, “Certainly, there is an increased demand from farmers in TN now, farmers admit that it’s a cost effective and time saving alternative. Both excess rains and severe drought have affected cultivation in the state - paddy needs to be irrigated at least 10 times per crop season of cultivation, while cotton needs irrigation once every fifteen days for which labourers have to be paid, Rs 400 per person for every 30 kg of harvest. The adoption of drone technology will counter the acute labour shortage in the region."

The 200-strong Marut Drones is planning a statewide awareness drive for farmers to inform them about the financial advantages of adoption of drone technology.