IFFCO Will Use Drones and Artificial Intelligence to Promote Nano Fertilizers

The DRONAI program combines drone, nano, artificial intelligence, and mobile technologies to promote the foliar application of nano fertilizers and other agrochemicals.

The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO) has announced intentions to promote the usage of nano fertilizers like nano Urea and nano DAP throughout India by utilizing drones and artificial intelligence technology. The DRONAI program combines drone, nano, artificial intelligence, and mobile technologies to promote the foliar application of nano fertilizers and other agrochemicals.

Also Read: Drones: The Future of Indian Agriculture

The goal of the DRONAI initiative is to create a viable drone spraying system, operate it in collaboration with rural youth and farmers, and train them in innovative technologies to stimulate rural entrepreneurship.

All essential regulations for drones, their transport vehicles, and safe flight are integrated into the process and coordinated via the farmer-friendly smartphone app. This advanced, integrated drone technology can be encouraged in agriculture, assisting farmers in practising high-tech smart farming.

Farmers will have access to this technology via a smartphone app, which will make spraying more efficient, cost-effective, and safe. AI-based software can identify crop growth and health while spraying, guiding farmers toward smart farming.

Farmers will have access to an integrated software platform that can run on any mobile device, connecting all users, including the drone operator, farmer, field officer, and central control unit. This would allow for remote monitoring of drones and spray efficiency.

The software would also allow farmers to schedule spraying well in advance with a single click. Farmers' spraying expenditures are predicted to be reduced by 50% thanks to DRONAI technology, saving time and avoiding the drudgery and health risks connected with the hand spraying of agricultural chemicals.

DRONAI aids in the effective monitoring and guidance of drone technology in agriculture, as well as the safe application of nano fertilizer and agrochemicals across wider regions at a cheap cost to farmers. A one-of-a-kind electric tricycle has been built to safely transport drones to farmers' fields.

IFFCO started the DRONAI trial module in technical collaboration with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) at the Agricultural Research Station, TNAU, Coimbatore, India. The program was started by Dr U.S. Awasthi, Managing Director of IFFCO, in the presence of Dr V. Geethalakshmi, Vice Chancellor of TNAU.

Dr A. Lakshmanan, Managing Director of IFFCO-Nanoventions, and IFFCO Marketing Director Yogendra Kumar discussed the need for integrated drone technology in smart farming with the farmers. This program brought together over 450 farmers from various areas to learn more about drone, nano, and artificial intelligence technology in agriculture.

TNAU and IFFCO collaborated to organize the DRONAI program. The program aims to promote the adoption of innovative farming technology and make them available to farmers across India.

It is projected to transform agriculture, making farming more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable while decreasing the load of manual labour and health concerns associated with old methods.