Ludhiana: Agri expo concludes, drone technology proves to be crowd puller

LUDHIANA: The drone technology for agriculture being exhibited at the India Agri Progress Expo at Ludhiana became the centre of attraction for the visitors especially the academicians, students from agricultural universities of India who were here to attend this event. Sunday being the final day of this three-day expo, there was a huge rush of visitors and this drone technology was the crowd puller.
Giving more information, GS Dhillon the organiser of the event said, “Drone technology for agriculture being exhibited at the expo is the star of this event as from day one the farmers, especially the progressive farmers, experts and students from agricultural universities of different states including Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and others were seen enquiring about the drone technology.”
The drone technology was offered for live demonstration by the companies in the exhibition and special guest Dr HK Chaudhary, vice chancellor of CSKHPKV Palampur also addressed the gathering while highlighting the importance of drone technology in Indian agriculture.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr HK Chaudhary said, “Agricultural drones have started gaining ground as they can perform a variety of tasks like sprinkling pesticides, spraying water, monitoring crops, etc. In every sector robotic machines are bringing transformation. Similarly, drone technology is bringing transformation in the agriculture sector. In agriculture, there is a loss of Rs 1 lakh crore due to several reasons including uncertain weather conditions, pest attacks and several other reasons. Besides, the farmers are also facing shortage of farm labour. Therefore, adopting the latest technologies like drone technology will help in reducing the loss”
Dr Nachiket Kotwaliwale, director, ICAR-CIPHET, Ludhiana also visited the expo and said that the expo is very beneficial for the farmers as well as for all those involved in agriculture related businesses.
Dr Jetinder from KVK Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand was here with his team to examine drone technology. He said that the drone technology they saw here was costing around Rs 7 lakh. “The large scale farmers can easily purchase the technology but the marginal farmers will be able to avail technology by group purchasing,” he said while adding that if companies will come up with drone technology upto Rs 5 lakh. It will become favourable for farmers to adopt the technology.
Dr Kuldeep Singh Jassowal, director, department of dairy development, Punjab, was the special guest of the event. Jassowal appreciated the efforts of the organisers and said that this expo is very beneficial for farmers. He said that besides live machinery on display, seminars were conducted by the experts to educate farmers about the latest technologies and practices that they can adopt to enhance their farming.
Dr Inderjit Singh Sra, former director, department of dairy development, Punjab, was also present on the occasion and he also addressed the participants.