Indian drone maker ideaForge have partnered with EM3 Agriservices, to democratise precision agriculture which could benefit Indian farmers.

"The partnership will enable them to leverage each other’s strengths of technology and wide reach to offer robust agritech solutions to farmers that will accelerate the march towards doubling farmers’ income," the company said.

The initial phase of the partnership focuses on programs that stimulate income growth by improving productivity, resource use efficiency, increasing cropping intensity and diversification towards high-value crops. EM3 provides services such as land preparation, sowing/transplanting, crop management, harvesting and post-harvest farm management on pay-per-use basis.

"The real income of farmers in India doubled over a period of 26 years. If we are to grow as an economic powerhouse, it is imperative that we reduce this time period drastically," said Ankit Mehta CEO, ideaForge. These drones are equipped with highly accurate GPS guidance systems that can provide accurate maps to guide farmers on optimizing the use of land, soil and variable rate application to reduce input costs and environmental impact.

EM3 Agriservices CEO, Adwitiya Mal said that the startup has deployed solutions with farmers in 3,000 villages in India. As around 86 per cent have land holdings of 2 hectares or less, the cost of technology and mechanization is prohibitive for them.  As a result, farmers have been able to reduce labour costs by over 50 per cent while realizing a 20-30 per cent increase in yield, he said.