Rural women in Punjab who have received training under the NAMO drone didi project have pioneered modern agriculture. The Rural women are earning by spraying pesticides using drones and enhancing their income while promoting modern agriculture. Not only this, some of the women among trained drone pilots are going from village to village and spreading awareness about the benefits of using drones for spraying pesticides and fertilisers on their fields. They are seeking it as a way to improve their economic conditions.
What does the Punjab Agriculture Minister say?
Union Minister of State for Agriculture and farmers’ welfare, Ramnath Thakur, has revealed that of the 14,500 drones approved under the central scheme, nearly 1,021 have been received by Punjab. It is the highest among the northern Indian states.
Experiences of Punjabi Drone Didis
Drone Didis have shared some of their own experiences, such as
Amanjot Kaur, a 21-year-old lady from Bathinda’s Chathewala village, said that she earned around ₹1.75 lakh in the last seven months by working as a drone pilot in the fields. She added that after the demise of her father, she could not pursue my studies after class 12. ”As I was enrolled with a self-help group (SHG), where I learnt about the Drone Didi project, I was soon selected for the scheme. After a 15-day training, I was given a drone, a three-wheeled e-scooter, and a power generator worth ₹12 lakh for free to start work independently,” she said further. Moreover, Another Drone Didi named Simranjit Kaur, who holds MSc degree in physics and is from Marewal in Ludhiana, says that the centre’s initiative has opened a path for women to work and earn in fields using modern technology. She offers the service commercially and goes from village to village to spread awareness of the benefits of new technology for spraying farm chemicals. She works in the village to encourage best farm practices, says she is delighted to be part of the handful of Punjabi women who received training in flying drones to meet the new-age demands of the Modern agriculture sector.