DRONE: A Modern Tool for Sustainable Agriculture April 16, 2021 (Friday)

Organized by Regional Coordinating Institute (RCI)

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan [1]

INTRODUCTION

A Workshop entitled “DRONE: A Modern Tool for Sustainable Agriculture” was

organized by the Regional Coordinating Institute (RCI), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Indian

Institute of Technology Roorkee, on April 16, 2021 (Friday) through virtual platform WebEx.

UBA Participating Institutions (PIs) coordinators from Uttarakhand, West Uttar Pradesh,

and other regions, IIT Roorkee faculty members, students, Gram Pradhan's farmers of adopted

villages attended this program. The workshop schedule is enclosed as Annexure – I.

INAUGURAL SESSION

Prof. Ashish Pandey, Coordinator, RCI-UBA, IIT Roorkee,

welcomed the dignitaries and all the workshop participants. He commenced

the online workshop that featured the keynote speakers, i.e., Dr. Ambrish

Kumar, Dean, College of Agricultural Engineering, Dr. Rajendra Prasad

Central Agricultural University, Samastipur, Pusa, Bihar. Prof. Pandey

apprised that 70% of our country's population lives in rural areas engaged in the agricultural

economy. Agriculture and allied sector employing 51% of the total workforce but accounting for

only 17% of the country's GDP. Thus, there are huge developmental disconnects between the

rural and urban sectors, such as inequity in health, education, incomes and basic amenities, and

employment opportunities, all causing great discontent and large-scale migration to urban areas.

Drone technology, equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and remote

sensing features, are rising in demand because of its advantages. Drone startups in India have

used this opportunity to accomplish better technological capacities.

Prof. M. Parida, Deputy Director, IIT Roorkee, welcomed the

keynote speaker Dr. Ambrish Kumar. He apprised that recently IIT Roorkee

has started a drone center. He said that the agricultural drone would

empower agriculture professionals with powerful equipment and provides

intelligent solutions that save time and increase workflow. This allows timely

protection of crops from pests, saves time for crop scouting, reduces overall cost in farm

production, and secures high yield and quality crops.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan [2]

Dr. Ambrish Kumar, discussed and shared his experience through

the on “Drone - A Modren tool for Sustainable Agriculure”. Dr.

Ambrish said that Drones are emerging as a component of precision

agriculture and contribute to sustainable agriculture. He added that the

adoption of modern technologies in agriculture, such as drones, can

significantly enhance risk and damage assessments and revolutionize agricultural management.

Presently, farmers face many problems like unavailability or high cost of labor, health problems

by coming into contact with chemicals (fertilizers, pesticides, etc.) while applying them in the

field, bite by insects or animals, etc. In this context, drones can also help farmers in avoiding

these troubles. He said that Drones help farmers optimize inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, water,

and pesticides more efficiently. It benefits a wide range of customers, from farmers and growers

to agricultural cooperation and service agencies. Digital, informative, intelligent, and precise

management solutions can easily be extended for commercial crops such as sugarcane, cotton,

citrus trees, apple trees, tea plants, etc. He emphasized the use of Drone technology for

agriculture like Soil Health Monitoring, Pesticide Monitoring, Weed Mapping, Fertilizer

application, Crop growth monitoring, and disease detection, etc.

Moreover, Dr. Ambrish discussed some points for using

drone technology in the agricultural field like Scope &

Opportunities, Precision Agriculture, Classification of Drone, Field

layout & mapping for spray application, LOCUST Control Using

Drone, Way Forward & Challenges, Recommendations for DAC &

FW, Corp Monitoring & Modeling, Outcomes, DGCA Guidelines

and Drone as a future technology for agriculture, etc.

Farmers’ BIRD EYE – Torchbearer of Next-gen Agriculture

During the interactive session, few questions were raised by the participants,

which were answered by keynote speaker Dr. Ambrish Kumar.

In the end, Prof. Ashish Pandey, Coordinator, Regional Coordinating Institute, Unnat

Bharat Abhiyan, IIT Roorkee, proposed a formal vote of thanks to keynote speaker Dr. Amrish

Kumar, Prof. M. Parida, Deputy Director, IIT Roorkee, participants, UBA team, and Media Cell of

IIT Roorkee.

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan [3]

Photographs of Live Session

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan [4]

UNNAT BHARAT ABHIYAN REGIONAL COORDINATING INSTITUTE

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TTECHNOLOGY ROORKEE

Online Workshop

on

“DRONE: A Modern Tool for Sustainable Agriculture” Date & Time: April 16, 2021; 16:00 hrs. to 17:30 hrs. (on WebEx)

Program Schedule

16:00 – 16:05 About the workshop Prof. Ashish Pandey Coordinator, RCI-UBA,IIT Roorkee

16:05 – 16:15 Address by Prof. M. Parida Deputy Director, IIT Roorkee

16:15– 17:15 Presentation on “DRONE: A Modern Tool for Sustainable Agriculture”

Dr. Ambrish Kumar Dean, College of Agricultural Engineering, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samstipur (BIHAR)

17:15 – 17:30 Open Discussion All Participants

Annexure - I

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan [5]

News Clippings

“DRONE: A Modern Tool for Sustainable Agriculture”

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan [6]

News Clippings

“DRONE: A Modern Tool for Sustainable Agriculture”

cnzhfo”kky 19 vizsy 2021

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan [7]

Workshop News Links:

https://epaper.jagran.com/epaper/18-apr-2021-107-roorkee-edition-roorkee.html

https://mepaper.livehindustan.com/epaper/Uttarakhand/Roorkee/2021-04-18/145/Page-

1.html

https://epaper.amarujala.com/roorkee/my-city/2021-04-

18/02.html?format=img&ed_code=roorkee

https://www.dainikhawk.com/education/iit-use-of-drones-in-agriculture-workshop-

organized-221352

https://www.thehawk.in/states/uttarakhand-news/iit-roorkee-online-workshop-drone-

agriculture-221329

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