Touring the south of India is a completely different experience when compared to the north. The climate is different, the way people are, the food, their cultures, it is such a major shift to what we have been experiencing for a long time. It was worth mentioning how unique this experience is us, even interacting with our own teams from the south. Welcome to Day 3 in Telangana. Today we are in Nandikotkur for our Drone demonstration in our Drone Yatra.Something worth mentioning, we had started the journey to cover 10,000 kms throughout, but our demonstrations have gained so much traction, and we have covered so many farmers, we have already surpassed our goals and are over-achieving them now.Nandikotkur is a very scenic region where a lovely cotton field was awaiting our visit for a drone spray. We completed the demonstration and started our in-depth interaction with the farmers. There were seven Agri officers from the tehsils in that region also in presence to witness the demonstration. They had a few words…

Yesterday we missed acknowledging a major milestone. It was Day 45 yesterday as we entered Telangana for our Drone demonstrations. It has been a long journey, and we are almost at the last leg. It was an interesting day though, since we had started Telangana, we were approached by farmers with their questions about chilly farms and that became our next goal. Read on to know if we managed to find one.Welcome to Day 2 in Telangana. Today we are in Gadwal, which is a village on the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh border. We reached a calm cotton field and set up for the demonstration. After completing the demonstration, the farmers started asking more questions about using the drone on chilly. And that is when we happened to notice a chilly farm nearby. It belonged to one of the farmers who was attending the demonstration.We quickly sought his permission and flew the drone in his field to showcase how the drone performs on a chilly farm. The farmers were excited seeing the results and so were we. The entire farm was…

We are in Telangana, one of the newest states of India. It was earlier a part of Andhra Pradesh, but since recently has formed a new state, yet shares the state capital with Andhra Pradesh, similar to how Haryana and Punjab share Chandigarh as a state capital. So not a first occurrence for India. Telangana is one of the major growers of paddy and cotton, and it is also a major contributor to India’s chili production. Something that was very noticeable today.Welcome to Day 1 in Telangana. We are in Warangal today for our drone demonstration in a calm paddy field. Attendees included over 100 farmers, the agriculture department’s team, some of Syngenta’s field team and even the local media showed up to cover the event since this was something interesting that was happening in Telangana for the first time.We completed the demonstration successfully, post which our interaction with the farmers started. One interesting question came up is from some chilly farmers that were attending the event. Chilly has a lot of…

Spraying of chemicals on farms is by far the biggest application explored for drones, but here is something interesting, using them to spray on orchards. Welcome to Day 4 in Andhra Pradesh. We are in Erragada today for the drone demonstration on a cotton field.It was interesting to see the drone spray on the cotton crop, because many farmers have voiced their concerns about how they are unable to spray on the cotton plants once the cotton starts to blossom and then they have no way of controlling the pests on the crop. They were also skeptical of the drone spraying on cotton because the fan speed of the drones might cause damage to the cotton crop.Seeing the demonstration helped them understand the technology and the spraying technique, putting their mind to ease that the drones will not damage the cotton crop in any way. Moreover, drones can also spray on cotton when they are closer to the harvest stage so as to ensure a proper harvest for the farmer.Some farmers who had visited the demonstration were…

Diseases and pests are major issues for farmers across the globe. It is difficult to keep track of them actively, and the only way to go about it is by taking the right precautions. Syngenta has some precautionary solutions, but for that, time is a crucial factor. Covering a vast amount of land in a short span is not practically feasible unless there is a solution to do that. Lucky for the farmers, we are currently doing a ‘Yatra’ with it.Welcome to Day 3 in Andhra Pradesh. Today we are in Jakkepalli and Kusumanchu for our two demonstrations for the day. We started out at Jakkepalli where a group of agricultural department officials and the local gram panchayat members were present at the event along with 80+ farmers. We provided them with the demonstration, answered their questions and moved to the next location, Kusumanchu.We reached our next location which was a cotton field. We provided the demonstration to the farmers and completed a successful event there. An interesting question that popped up during…

Farmers are one such species that can get the most things done with the least amount of resources. They are this resource light because they know how to get things done in less resources as they are always lacking them most of the times. This is especially true in the case of small landholding farmers. Today, we met some much farmers who had major resource struggles and were worries how much of their resources might be needed for them to use drones.Welcome to Day 2 in Andhra Pradesh. Today we in Modukuru for our only demonstration of the day. We have the agriculture department of the region in presence today for the drone demonstration. We are spraying a paddy field with a drone today where many farmers who have seen certain videos online are worried that the drone will damage the crop with the high pressure its propellers exert.We set up and conducted a demo for the farmers and put their worries to rest seeing that the drone did not damage any of the crop. Some farmers asked an interesting question, how…

Can’t believe the journey has been long, we have travelled a vast region of India west, India North and India East. Our journey of the south begins now. Welcome to Syngenta Drone Yatra. We are in Telangana beginning our demonstration in the south. We have completed over 75% of the Drone Yatra and we are nearing the end, but it is not over yet.Today we are visiting Tenali and Cherukapalli. These regions lie in the major paddy and cotton belt of Andhra Pradesh, which are two major crops grown in the state. We first reached Tenali where the Agriculture Department officials of the region were present. They were very interested to see how the drone works and how it can impart value to the many farmers of the region. Along with them, our distributor network was also present, seeking opportunities to expand their portfolio with Syngenta, possibly with drones as well as how the drones would help them sell more products.There were also media persons who attended the event and over 50 farmers of the region. We set up…

Day 40: Egra – We Visited the SDO Office for a DemoWe have had many government officials and ministers visit our demonstrations and see the drone in action. They all have been actively involved since even they see the value we are bringing to the farmers. Even today, we visited the SDO office for a one-off demonstration as many farmers are actively connected with them and hence it is a good platform to bring in more farmers to showcase the drone to them.Welcome to Day 3 and the final day in West Bengal before we move southwards to Telangana. Our destination for today is the village of Egra where we will be conducting the demonstration on a paddy field. There were over 100 farmers who attended the demonstration eagerly. We reached the destination, set up and went over the briefing and then proceeded with the demonstration.In the post demo Q&A an interesting question popped up, that if a farmer is at a different location, and his farm is located elsewhere where he wants to avail the drone spray request,…

It is always fun to work with the little guy, empower them to achieve something great. When we set out to our journey, our aim was also similar. Help the small land holders by empowering them with technology so that they can also reap great rewards and make their lives easier. Guess we did what we set out to.Welcome to day 2 in West Bengal. Today we are headed to the Burdwan region, covering two villages, Mahaprobhu and Adra. Both the fields today are of paddy since it is the one of the largest grown crops in West Bengal. We reached Mahaprobhu first, set up the drone and completed the demonstration. Later during the Q&A, many farmers were interested in the drones but were worried if they were to procure them, and considering they are small land holders, how much value would it be?We put their worries to rest by giving them a fair comparison about how they do not need to invest in procuring the drones, but Syngenta will be giving them a service for which they would pay fees. Also, the amount of money they…

When it comes to working with drones, there is some level of sensitivity that has to be taken care of. Drones come under Ministry of Aviation, means it is a sensitive topic. Moreover, the military is also involved to some extent since it has to ensure there is no misuse of the drones in terms of hampering the national security. So, when it comes to using drones near international borders, it becomes a different issue altogether.Lucky for us, we ensured everything was in place for our demonstrations so that we did not have to disappoint the farmers. Welcome to Day 1 in West Bengal. We are headed towards the village of Joka where a paddy field is waiting for us. West Bengal is a state known for its Mangrove swamps and being blessed with substantial rainfall, making paddy a major crop in the region.Our demo location here was located just 5 kms from the Bangladesh border, thus the need to get additional permissions, which thanks to the swift work of the local teams, we did. We reached the demo location, set up…

Sugarcane being a major crop in Uttar Pradesh (UP) it is no surprise that a lot of demonstrations we do are on Sugarcane farms. It is also no surprise that a lot of Sugar mill owners also sometimes visit the demonstrations to see the drones in action since they are very widely connected to the sugarcane growers in the region.Welcome to Day 5 and the last day in UP. This is our final stop here before we move to West Bengal and start our demonstrations there. Today’s demonstrations are going to be in the Hardoi region in sugarcane and paddy fields. We first made our way to Belhari village in Hardoi region for our first demonstration in a sugarcane field. Among many farmers, a team from the nearby sugarcane factory, including their General Manager were in presence for the demonstration.We began our briefing and then the demonstration, followed by a quick Q&A. The sugar mill team was curious to understand how the drone would work on sugarcane as it becomes difficult for farmers to access the interior parts…

The last thing we want to do is burden the farmer more. We are bringing in the Drone spray service so that the farmers do not need to bear any financial stress nor any physical or mental stress when working on a farm. It is all the simplify their lives and livelihoods with this. That is one of the primary motives for us in Syngenta when we embarked on the Drone Yatra. That is what we aim to do and that is what we will.Welcome to Day 4 in Uttar Pradesh (UP). Today we are headed to a small village called Khadra in Lucknow region for our demonstration for the day. It is a special event for us since the Agriculture Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Hon. Surya Pratap Shahi is to visit us for the demonstration. We reached there and set up, waiting for the minister to arrive, and once did, we started with our briefing and demonstration.Once done, the Hon. Minister Surya Pratap Shahi addressed the crowd saying how it is great that the drones are here and will make the lives of the farmers easier. Modern technology is…