Start-up aims to use drones for hi-tech agri interventions

At times when drones are commonly being used across the globe, the new technology has now started picking up pace in the agriculture sector of the region. Though people might have heard about drones being used in agricultural activities like spraying of pesticides or watering the crop, Aerosys Aviation India, a start-up, is using the drones for crop mapping, surveying, crop damage assessment and for various other agricultural purposes.

Aerosys Aviation India, a start-up by the two young minds, have been helping the farmers in analysing their fields since the past two years. The company co-founders Sethuraj V and Avinash Kumar are now reaching out to masses in the biennial agro technology and business fair — CII Agro Tech India 2022, a four-day agri-tech exhibition being held in Chandigarh’s Parade Ground till November 7.

Sethuraj V, said, “For the past seven years, we were handling technologies and drones but we had set up the company two years ago, that specifically focused on technology and agriculture sustainability. In the past two years, we have covered agriculture fields of over 500 sq kilometers, mostly of which were in Bihar, Bhopal and Arunachal Pradesh, and have done their mapping and spraying”.

“At the first step, drones are used to capture the farmland in 3-D images. Then, drones are used for making assessments of crop damages and diseases. In this, photographs are clicked and then we prepare a report along with agriculture scientists and give it to farmers. The drones also make assessments on scarcity of nutrients and the crop diseases and in the final step, drones then do the spraying of pesticides and required medicines, at the required spots”, he said.

He added that the farmers get benefits as they get to know more about their field, the crop diseases, and the nutrients and they can fix the problems for better crop production and for generating higher incomes.

“The analysis and spraying can be done at estimated cost of ₹1,500 for one acre of land”, Sethuraj V said, adding that the firm has done some demos in Haryana but they are hopeful of getting some contracts from Punjab too. “CII Agro tech is helping us in reaching out to people and finding new opportunities in Punjab and Haryana”.

He added that this venture was incubated at IIT Kanpur, with Dr AK Ghosh, professor, department of aerospace engineering at the institute acting as mentors to the young team that also comprises another young engineer, Avinash Kumar, co-founder, who is also a BE in Electronics and Communication. Their other mentor was Dr Vimal Kumar, professor and head, economic sciences, also at IIT Kanpur. “ The places where we are doing land mapping are actually our customers and are institutions that need good quality, fast data on land,” he said, adding that individual farmers, with small land holdings, would need to get together to make his product a viable fit.

He and his two colleagues at the stall of his company, Aerosys Aviation India, agree that his company was into precision agriculture and taking the theme of sustainable agriculture forward.