Drone Women Change Farm Scenario In Ex-Kurnool Districts
The women, mainly part of self-help groups (SHGs) and who own land, are acquiring these drones with an 80 per cent subsidy available under the Namo Drone Didi scheme.
KURNOOL: Drone technology has started playing a major role in farming across the erstwhile Kurnool district region. Around 100 women are already using drones for agriculture and 60 more will be joining them soon after finishing their training in Kurnool and Nandyal districts.
The women, mainly part of self-help groups (SHGs) and who own land, are acquiring these drones with an 80 per cent subsidy available under the Namo Drone Didi scheme.
Each drone costs about ₹10 lakh. Of this, ₹8 lakh is the government subsidy—₹4 lakh from the Namo Drone Didi scheme and another ₹4 lakh from the RKVY and SMAM schemes. Women can get the remaining ₹2 lakh through bank loans or from Stree Nidhi. In some cases, banks are giving loans up to ₹5 lakh and the women have to pay only 10 per cent of the cost.
These drones can carry 10 litres of liquid or 10 kg of seeds. They can fly up to 250 feet high, covering a distance of 2 km. They are fast and efficient—able to spray seeds, fertilisers or pesticides over an acre of land in just 5–10 minutes.
On an average, one drone can be used to spray 75–100 acres a day. At a rate of ₹500 per acre, women can easily earn up to ₹5,000 a day.
Gangabhavani from Devanakonda said, “We had 10 days of training, where they showed us how to use the drone. It’s very useful—we use it over our five-acre farm and plan to rent it to nearby farmers when needed. It saves time and money.”
So far, 61 women have been selected for the programme—31 from Kurnool and 30 from Nandyal. All of them have to be landowners and at least 10th pass. Five of the women from Kurnool received training at B. Thandrapadu.
In Kurnool and Nandyal districts, about 7 lakh farmers grow crops on 10 lakh hectares. With the help of drones, women are helping many of them save time, cut costs and earn more—bringing a major change in prospects of agriculture in the region.
A senior agriculture official said they are guiding women through technical difficulties. With experience, they will become fully capable drone pilots, she added.