Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) used to carry out tasks ranging from military operations to package delivery or just for personal amusement. Drones have been in use for some time now in the fields of military, delivery, emergency rescue, outer space exploration and agriculture. Based on the purpose, you can buy a drone as they come in different sizes. You can find military-grade drones to average remote-controlled drones that a kid might fly in the park.
Drones have great potential to revolutionize Indian agriculture and ensure the country’s food security. The adoption of drone technology is the need of the times and will surely help farmers. In 2020, locusts had attacked various states and to ward off the locust attack, drones were used.
Benefits of using drones in agriculture
Drones can be used to spray pesticides across the fields while simultaneously noting down the nutrient value of the crops. As drones are well-equipped with multi-spectral and photo cameras, they help in monitoring crop quality, checking the growth in height, evaluating crop stress, and predicting yields. They can also be used to deliver herbicides, fertilizers and water.
Drones also assess the health of the crops by checking for weeds, infections, pests, fungi and rot. Based on this assessment, the exact amounts of chemicals that are needed to fight these infestations can be applied. Drones can also be used to distribute seeds or spray vital nutrients on the soil. Thus, this technology increases the consistency and efficiency of crop management.
With the use of drones, farmers overcome problems such as unavailability or high cost of labour, health problems caused due to prolonged exposure to chemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, etc. They are also saved from insect bites or animal attacks.
Drone technology SOPs
After seeing the wide-ranging benefits of using drones in agriculture, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, (Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare) rolled out the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for use of drones. These provide instructions for the safe and efficient usage of drones and cover the following areas:
| 1. Pesticide Application | 2. Weight Classification | 3. Piloting Certification | 4. Emergency Handling Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. Statutory Provisions | 6. Overcrowded Areas Restriction | 7. Operation Plan | 8. Air Flight Zones |
| 9. Flying Permissions | 10. Drone Registration | 11. Weather Conditions | 12. Safety Insurance |
| 13. Area Distance Restrictions |
You can view the detailed SOP for Drones here.
Drone technology is helping farmers improve their efficiency and increase crop yields. As the yields increase, the sale of crops in mandis will also increase. This will in turn increase the workload of commission agents, especially their mandi accounting activities such as inventory management, bill generation for every sale or purchase and recording all financial transactions. Understanding these challenges and turning them into opportunities, Bijak which is India’s Number 1 Agritrading App, came up with a mandi accounting solution called ChargeERP.
ChargeERP the solution
ChargeERP mandi accounting software has been designed keeping in mind the daily interactions of commission agents in agricultural mandis. It is a cloud-based accounting software introduced with the core aim of reducing the agent’s workload. ChargeERP is the easiest, fastest and most secure mandi accounting software available in India. One of the many benefits of this platform is that it can be accessed from anywhere and from multiple devices. It provides data security with end-to-end encryption. Plus, it doesn’t require any kind of technical or accounting expertise.
If you are looking to explore more about this next-level accounting software, feel free to dial +91 9311341199 or visit www.chargeerp.com, and request your free demo today. We also suggest that you follow us on Facebook for regular updates. You can also view the latest instructional videos on the ChargeERP YouTube channel.