AMRUT Drone Mission, Salam Kisan partner to boost precision farming, create livelihoods
Mumbai, July 8(TNT): The AMRUT Drone Mission has partnered with precision agriculture platform Salam Kisan to create sustainable livelihood opportunities for trained drone pilots while expanding farmers’ access to affordable drone-based crop spraying and advisory services.
The collaboration aims to connect candidates trained under the AMRUT Drone Mission with farmer demand through Salam Kisan’s drone-as-a-service (DaaS) platform, enabling DGCA-certified drone owner-operators to provide precision agriculture services across Maharashtra.
According to the release, the initiative seeks to address India’s shortage of trained drone pilots and agricultural drones while promoting efficient use of fertilisers, pesticides and water through data-driven crop management.
The AMRUT Drone Mission has been training candidates as DGCA-certified drone pilots and supporting them through employment opportunities and drone ownership under the AMRUT Vyaj Parvatha Yojana, which offers a two-year interest waiver on drone purchase financing for eligible beneficiaries.
Under the partnership, farmers will be able to book drone spraying services through Salam Kisan’s mobile application, WhatsApp and phone channels, while trained operators will receive assignments through the platform’s “Sarathi” interface, which provides crop-specific operating procedures and generates spray records and advisory services.
The collaboration aims to generate continuous livelihood opportunities for trained drone pilots, improve access to timely and cost-effective precision spraying, reduce excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides, lower water consumption and spraying costs, and minimise farmers’ exposure to hazardous chemicals.
Rahul of JVE Konnect said the AMRUT Drone Mission plans to train and establish 1,000 drone entrepreneurs across Maharashtra over the next year, creating a network capable of delivering precision agriculture services to more than one lakh farmers.
Dhanashri Mandhani of Salam Kisan said long-term adoption of precision agriculture would depend on enabling early crop stress detection, optimising agricultural input usage and increasing farmer awareness about the benefits of drone-based farming.
Salam Kisan currently serves over 5.5 lakh farmers across Maharashtra, has developed standard operating procedures for more than 31 crops and has facilitated over 2.5 lakh drone spray operations through a network of more than 240 drone operators, the release added.
TNT KS
