Technology Adoption in Agriculture: Drones and Digital Tools Drive Productivity

India’s agricultural sector is witnessing a significant push towards technology adoption through agri-drones and digital platforms. These innovations aim to improve productivity, reduce input costs, and create rural employment.

Agri-Drones: Scaling Up Rapidly

• Garuda Aerospace launched a facility in Chennai to manufacture over 100,000 drones by 2026.
• 300 Centres of Excellence inaugurated for R&D and skilling in drone tech.
• Drones offer:
  • 10x coverage over manual spraying,
  • Reduced pesticide/water use,
  • Lower chemical exposure risks for farmers.
• Subsidies under the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanisation:
  • Up to 100% for demos, 75% for FPOs.
• Drone Didi scheme: 15,000 drones to women-led SHGs by 2026.

Digital Agriculture Mission & Agri Stack

• Agri Stack integrates land records, farmer IDs, crop data.
• Pilot projects cover 436 districts with digital IDs and geotagged crop surveys.
• Enables AI-powered precision farming, early warnings, and improved subsidy/credit targeting.

Challenges

• High equipment cost, poor rural connectivity, and low digital literacy.
• Fragmented land holdings hinder drone efficiency.
• Concerns over data privacy and ownership.
• Benefits currently unevenly distributed.

Way Forward

• Invest in last-mile training and infrastructure.
• Ensure SHG and FPO ownership models for shared drone access.
• Protect farmers’ data rights and promote inclusive digital adoption.

BS