Drones started life as military technology but are finding evermore civilian uses every day. They are becoming commonplace in shooting shaadis and movies, disaster rescue missions, monitoring wildlife and protected lands and so on. Tomorrow they will be delivering books and diapers and medicines to our doorstep – a service for which the remoter parts of the world will be especially grateful. But what’s striking is that 80% of the commercial market for drones is eventually expected to be in agriculture. Last month the Union government launched a new programme called Kisan, or C(K)rop Insurance using Space Technology and Geoinformatics. Basically it aims at improving the crop insurance programme by gathering better crop data with the help of satellites, smartphones and drones. If assessment of crop damage becomes more accurate and quicker, this will mitigate delays in settling claims. But given the kind of innovative energy and pluck demanded to push tectonic technological shifts, it’s safe to say that it will be a long wait before the government gets Kisan up and running and flying so some kisans are going this way on their own. Plus, Indian startups in this droning space are estimated to have doubled in the past two years. What government really needs to do is sort out the blurry regulations and encourage entrepreneurs and innovation. While it’s pretty expensive right now, the price of drone technology is trending downwards. Bigger farms have been at the forefront of adopting it across the world but farm size here is predominantly smaller, so how much India can benefit from this technology will be determined by local jugaad and enterprise. Basically for centuries farming has been earthbound. But drone-enabled precision agriculture promises deliverance from the sky, dramatically recalibrating the input-output ratios to bump up productivity and profit. Imagine intensely targeted fertilisation and irrigation. Imagine identifying and fixing a nutrient deficiency or pestilence before it spreads. Less wastage will mean less pollution too. Basically we are talking about cutting the chemicals in both our food and environment. And fighting climate change. Source - http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com