Changing agriculture scenario, many women from rural areas in Madhya Pradesh trained to fly drone for multiple usages in crop production.
Farmers will find an army of drones ready to help them in spraying fertilizers in the fields and monitoring crops in large fields.
Now women in rural areas fly drones has emerge women strength multifold in Madhya Pradesh.
The self-confidence of these rural women who are proficient in new technology is at its peak.
These women proved that they can work with a little government support.
Women members of self-help groups have now stepped forward in this field.
Bhagwati Ahirwar resident of Basai village of Datia district is a member of Suhani Self-Help Group.
She has been working in the group since 2021.
This group produce organic fertilizers. Bhagwati learned to fly drone from MITS Gwalior.
She first heard about drones from the team of Madhya Pradesh Rural Livelihood Mission.
When she came to know that it is utility in farming, she expressed her intention to learn the use of drone so to increase the use of techniques in farming and to make farmers aware about it.
While narrating her experience of flying a drone, she says that she feels that her self-confidence has increased manifold.
Learning and connecting with new technology is a new experience of its own, she said.
Earlier we used to consider tractor as a big machine, she said.
Now it has come to light that the drone is going to be even more useful than the tractor, she said.
Bhagwati tells that her husband is very happy to see her flying the drone. The village people are also very happy.
Regarding her future planning, she says that spraying organic fertilizers through drones will now be the main task in agriculture.
I want to connect other women also with this technique, she said.
Geeta Kushwaha of Pipraua village of Indargarh tehsil of Datia district is a member of Maa Ratangarhwali Self Help Group since 2016.
This group is working to make women aware of socio-economic issues.
She also took training in flying drones from MITS Gwalior.
She says that drones have now become necessary to reduce the problems faced in farming and for better production.
She says that she is very happy and her confidence has increased a lot.
All the people of the village are very supportive and now I have become an inspiration for many youth, she said.
Khushboo from Dongarpur Lodha village in Morena district has been associated with Kali Self-Help Group for the last four years.
She says that while working in the group, she learned a lot like doing online transactions and recharge and learned many new technologies.
There was a call from the people of the mission in December for drone training and they said yes, thereafter she was excited to learn drones.
Seeing the drone, she felt like flying a kite, but after knowing the benefits of the drone, she became even more happy.
While sharing his experience of operating a drone, she says after training, she understood how to control the drone in the fields and also learned how to make videos during drone take-off and landing.
She tells that she can earn money by helping farmers in spraying pesticides.
Her family is fully supporting Khushboo because she has learned a lot at a young age. She has also been able to help the family.
Raidi of Ublad village of Jobat tehsil of Alirajpur district has been working in Baad Falya Self Help Group for the last three years. This group runs activities related to farming and household business.
She took training in flying drones from a private firm of Indore. Why was there a need to learn to fly a drone? When asked about this, she said that it has now become necessary for farming and it will become easier for farmers to spray medicines and fertilizers.
Learned this to help them and make it their means of livelihood, she said.
While sharing her experience of flying the drone, she says that by flying the drone, it felt as if flying a small helicopter.
She says that the people of the village were not aware of this technology. But after drone training, when everyone was told about the new technology, everyone was happy, she said.
She hopes that now this small but important work of farming will also fetch good wages.
She says that more and more people should join other farming related businesses.
Kamla Yadav of Hara Tola Aloni of Amarpur development block of Dindori district has been associated with Jai Maa Bhavani Self Help Group for the last one and a half years.
This group provides support to women for small scale industries at the local level.
She has been doing farming for 15 years. When she came to know about drones, she went ahead and enrolled herself in learning it.
She considers drones as a symbol of her technical proficiency and says that women also need to become technically competent.
This is not just men’s work. She felt happy flying the drone. She says that now it has become very easy to spray fertilizer in the fields.
The village people and all the family members are cooperating.
She feels proud that the villagers ask about farming and are grateful for the cooperation.
We want all the sisters in our self help group to learn to operate drones, she said.
89 rural women of Madhya Pradesh have been given training to fly drones.
This is possible in about 15 days of training.
The drone pilot can get an honorarium of up to Rs 15,000 and the co-pilot can get around Rs 10,000.
Women’s self-help groups will provide services to the farmers and themselves will become empowered.
It is an initiative to modernize agricultural methods by providing modern technical knowledge to rural women.
This will strengthen the agriculture-based rural economy.
Empowering women in rural areas through technological innovation will also provide opportunities for rural women as drone pilots, mechanics and spare-part dealers.
This will help in further empowering the role of women in agriculture based rural economy.
