CropLife India, an association of 16 R&D-driven crop science companies, conducted an awareness and training programme on the application of Kisan Drone Technology in agriculture throughout West Bengal on September 15 and 16.
The training and demonstration programme was organised jointly with the agriculture department and State Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute (SAMETI), government of West Bengal.
The two-day training and demonstration programme was held at Narendrapur. Swami Sarvalokananda, secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur; Hrishikesh Mudi, special secretary, department of agriculture, govt of West Bengal; S. Chattaraj, senior scientist, NBSSLUP, ICAR, Kolkata; Dibyendu Dutta, former scientist – head & GM, RRSC-East, ISRO, Kolkata; Damodhara Rao Mailapalli, associate professor, IIT, Kharagpur and Manas Ghosh, principal ATC & director SAMETI addressed the gathering.
Also present on the occasion were officials of SAMETI, scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra and extension officers, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), member companies and other officials.
Hrishikesh Mudi, special secretary, department of agriculture, government of West Bengal said, “With the introduction of kisan drones, they are becoming the Indian farmer’s new best friend which would help in saving time, cost and increasing yield and productivity. The Centre and state governments are taking necessary steps to facilitate the usage of drones.”
During the programme, CropLife India released its drone poster for quick reference & further dissemination. CropLife India believes that with all the favourable policy support coming in from the government, the conducive ecosystem needs to be nurtured in order to ensure faster adoption of drones in Indian Agriculture.
All the ecosystem stakeholders – government, agricultural universities, research institutions, corporates, industry associations, drone training institutes, drone manufacturers, drone service providers, FPOs, farmers, agri & rural entrepreneurs, etc. will work in tandem towards achieving this.
