I am a young farmer interested in drone spraying as a service business and a way around the spraying labour problem. Is this a real opportunity and how do I start?
2 Answers
Drone spraying is a genuine and growing agri service opportunity, both as income for you and as a solution to the shortage of spraying labour for other farmers. It needs proper training and a licence, agricultural drone pilots must be trained at a recognised institute and certified, and the drone itself must meet the required rules, so do not skip this. There are government schemes and subsidies in several states supporting agri drone purchase and training, especially for young entrepreneurs, FPOs and custom hiring centres, so ask your agriculture department what is available. The business model is per acre service charging for spraying pesticides, nutrients and some fertilisers across many farms in your area; a drone covers far more area per day than manual spraying and uses less water and chemical, which farmers value. Start by getting trained and licensed, check the subsidy you qualify for, and line up enough demand from nearby farmers before investing. Verify current licensing rules and scheme details before you commit.
I did the pilot course and bought my drone partly on subsidy. Now I spray for farmers across several villages on per acre rate. Demand keeps growing as labour gets scarce.