Traditional farmers embrace new technology like never before

Innovative technologies like drones and robotics revolutionize agriculture, boosting yields and reducing costs for farmers at Farm Festival 2024.

The attitude of traditional has undergone a sea change when it comes to innovations to make agriculture less cumbersome and expensive. Thousands have left farm fields to the ravages of time largely because of the spiralling cost of inputs. However, drones, for one, have been adopted across a spectrum of crops, said Devan Chandrasekharan of Fuselage Innovations.

In fact, drones continue to be a major attraction at the ongoing Farm Festival 2024 in Kalamassery as part of the ‘Krishikkoppam Kalamassery’ campaign that has seen hundreds of acres of fallow fields being brought under cultivation. Some have referred to it as “birds in the sky,” capable of irrigating and spraying fertilizers in a fraction of the time it takes manually. Drones can irrigate an acre of crops in around 25 minutes.

The integration of robotics and agriculture has led to a bountiful harvest for farmers, who are now more eager than ever to adopt new technologies and scientific methods to boost yields, reduce costs, and economise on fertilizers and pesticides.

K.M. Laiju, a member of Karumalloor panchayat and an enthusiastic farmer keen to encourage more people to take to the fields, said that farmers were increasingly embracing the significant advantages offered by unmanned aerial vehicles. Mr. Chandrasekharan mentioned that around 50 drones are currently in use in Kerala. Fuselage has also found users in States like Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, he added.

Besides drones, there are also serving robots and hologram fans on show at the fest, which concludes on Friday. The serving robots, which recharge themselves, fetch items upon receiving an order.

The farm festival has also worked to provide substantial information on the proposed Robopark coming up in Thrissur. Kerala’s first robotics park will be developed on a 10-acre plot with the support of the Thrissur district panchayat. The park will have four sections — RoboLand: for public education, Robotics Institute: for robotic courses, Production Centre: by Kochi-based Inker Robotics and Incubator: for 10 emerging firms.