CHENNAI: Anna University’s centre for aerospace research (CASR), located on the Madras Institute of Technology campus, has been selected by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) to train farmers in piloting drones for spraying fertiliser in farmlands.
Under the project, about 400 farmers from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will be trained at CASR and provided drones free of cost by IFFCO. “The training programme will begin on Monday. We have been assigned to train at least 400 farmers.
Each batch of 20 farmers will be trained for 10 days to handle and fly the drones. They will be trained about spraying of nano fertilisers in accordance with industry standards,” said K Senthil Kumar, director, CASR.
On completion of the course, the farmers will be awarded an approved drone remote pilot licence with a 10-year validity. “Keeping the future in mind, IFFCO has come up with a new product, nano urea liquid, which replaces conventional urea granules with liquid form,” said Kumar. CASR is offering the courses for `45,000 per person. Farmers will have to pay `15,000 and the remaining will be borne by IFFCO and CASR. IFFCO will also provide electric three-wheelers to carry the drone and nano fertiliser to the field.
