Wearing a green t-shirt over her saree and riding a three-wheeler with a large box strapped to the back, 33-year-old M Bhavani arrives at the training ground at 7 am every day. With a remote in her hand and glee on her face, Bhavani is learning to operate agricultural drones.
Hailing from Esojipet village, about 30 kilometres from Telangana’s Sangareddy town, Bhavani is one of 54 women selected to operate these drones under the Namo Didi Drone scheme.
In his monthly Mann ki Baat radio address on May 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised these “women who are working in the fields as well as touching the heights of the sky.” Referring to them as “sky warriors”, Prime Minister Modi said, “These women are telling us that change comes when technology and determination go together.”
A woman operates an agricultural drone. (Rahul V Pisharody/Indian Express)
Women in command
As part of the initiative, the women underwent a nine-day training programme and continue to practice until the drones are officially handed over to them.
The programme is still in its pilot stage, says Kranthi Valluru, Sangareddy’s district collector. “Initially, six drones are being deployed. Since the scheme is taken up as a pilot, the government will handhold them, and we will expand to other mandals later,” she says.
Under the scheme, each woman receives a drone worth Rs 10 lakh for just Rs 2 lakh, thanks to an 80 per cent subsidy and bank linkage. “We expect the drones to be delivered to the women in another two weeks. By skilling our women in drone operations, we can leverage the scheme’s subsidies, providing them with a valuable and substantial income-generating opportunity,” says Kranthi.
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Each woman is projected to earn Rs 20,000 per month as profit. “Ideally, each of the 28 revenue mandals should have two or three women pilots. They can charge up to Rs 500 per acre. Each acre can be sprayed in 10 minutes. Each day, they will be able to spray pesticide on around 20 acres,” she says.
To address a challenge — transporting heavy drones to different fields — authorities are considering providing three-wheelers to women.
Community-led demand
The demand for the implementation of the scheme is community-driven.
According to Kota Janga Reddy, additional district rural development officer and additional project director, due to the industrial nature of Sangareddy district and its proximity to Hyderabadthere is a massive shortage of labourers. “Farmers are moving quickly towards mechanisation due to labour shortage. One or two private farmers are using drones for spraying pesticides. So we selected 12 mandals and prepared proposals and sent them to the state and centre,” says Reddy.
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Women farmers at the Kisan Drone Operator Training centre. (Rahul V Pisharody/Indian Express)
Empowerment, freedom
The sight of women confidently manoeuvring their hands at these drones in open fields has become a symbol of empowerment. Villagers often stop to watch in awe, and more women are enquiring about the programme after Prime Minister Modi’s address.
The women have also found support from family and friends. “Earlier, people used to ask what a woman can do. After our training, all of them have realised what we can do. We have been able to inspire many more women,” says Bhavani.
Forty-year-old P Balamani agrees. “Before the training, I had seen a drone only at weddings, where they use it for photography. Now, I have not only learned to pilot a drone, but I have also learned to ride a three-wheeler to transport the drone around villages,” she says.
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Balamani and her husband, who cultivate about 3.5 acres of land, believe the benefits of using these drones are many. “When expenses are lower, we can earn more profits. Moreover, using a drone is better for our health than manually spraying pesticides. We are going to buy a drone now,” says Balamani, adding her family and friends have been extremely encouraging. “We cultivate paddy and cotton for seven to eight months. We can use the drone for our field as well as for the neighbours and villagers. This is definitely a good idea for earning revenues through what can be a part-time job,” she says.
A manual labourer typically charges around Rs 1000 per day for spraying pesticides, Balamani explains, and the coverage is often inconsistent. “With a drone, all you need to do is set the location, and you will not miss a spot. While you need 100 litres of water for spraying pesticide on a one-acre land using a manual pump, it takes only 10 litres of water per acre.”
Balamani quips that the entire family used to work in the field earlier, and now only two women are required per field. While one of them will pilot the drone, the other will assist. “We have sufficient water and electricity for farming. What we don’t have is labour. We should move forward to adopt as much mechanisation as possible. It would be great if the government started a scheme for giving away seeds sowing and transplanter machines too. That will save a lot of time and energy for farmers,” she says.
