Along with sugarcane, pesticides and liquid fertilizers are applied to crops including mustard, wheat, corn, lentils, mangoes, and litchis using drones.
What you should know
When there is an outbreak of pests in sugarcane, it becomes very difficult to apply pesticides or liquid fertilizers. Since the containers are tall, it is not possible to reach all places with a hand spray machine. Along with this, there is a risk to the body of the person applying the pesticides.
Recently, tigers and leopards have been seen in sugarcane fields, and there is a lot of fear. A similar problem used to plague Asharay Badayak of Hattibhoja, Belauri Municipality-6, Kanchanpur.
He was even more worried when pests were seen in sugarcane. It was even difficult to find workers to spray pesticides. Nowadays, he does not have to worry about spraying pesticides or applying liquid fertilizers. For the past two years, he has been applying pesticides and fertilizers using drones. ‘The biggest problem was applying pesticides to sugarcane. The sugarcane grew tall and could not be transported everywhere. It also got on the body,’ said Badayak. ‘After applying pesticides using drones, all this has been solved. There is no need to employ laborers.’ He uses drones to apply pesticides and liquid fertilizers to all seasonal crops including mustard, wheat, corn, lentils, mangoes and litchi along with sugarcane.
In 2079/080, he purchased a drone after the Ministry of Agriculture of the Sudurpaschim Province government provided assistance in introducing advanced technology with a 50 percent subsidy. An 18-liter tank is installed on the drone. Badayak says that pesticides can be sprayed on one bigha in 15 minutes.
The drone, purchased for Rs. 1.3 million, can be operated automatically or remotely. GPS marking is done for automation. Then the drone is filled with pesticide and flown. The drone sprays pesticide only within the GPS-marked area. Another remote control is used to spray pesticide by operating the drone as needed. Badayak says that one bigha of land can be sprayed with pesticide in about 15 minutes.
40-year-old Rana prefers to farm in a modern way rather than the traditional way. He is also working on preparing sugarcane beds using modern technology and planting mustard as a mixed crop with sugarcane. He also received the Best Farmer Award from the Sudurpaschim Province Government in 2079/080.
Currently, Badayak has cultivated sugarcane in 6 bighas. He has planted mustard in two bighas, wheat in one bighas, and corn in one bighas. He has already cut some sugarcane and sent it to the sugar mill. ‘My father also used to farm in the same way, I also followed his profession,’ said Badayak, ‘Now it is good, the income is also good.’ He is earning between 20 and 25 lakhs a year from farming.
He has now planted sugarcane and mustard as a mixed crop. After the mustard is harvested, the sugarcane grows. Then the necessary pesticides are sprayed. Recently, other farmers have also started planting mustard or banana along with sugarcane as a mixed crop.
‘Drones are beneficial for commercial farming in large areas, as they can work on a large area with less time and investment,’ said Dharma Saund, information officer at the Agricultural Knowledge Center, Kanchanpur, ‘This allows pesticides and fertilizers to be sprayed uniformly everywhere.’ But he said that with the recent fragmentation of land, it is not very beneficial for small farmers in terms of investment and technology.
