2022-10-16-世界经济论坛-Using_Technology_to_Improve_a_Billion_Livelihoods_33页_4mb

In collaboration with
Adani Defence and Aerospace
Using Technology To Improve a Billion Livelihoods

1. Indian Agriculture Context: Vital for a 1.3 billion population's food security; uses 60% of land and 85% of freshwater; challenges include low yields (20-28% below global benchmarks), fragmented landholdings (small/marginal farmers own 86% of land, contributing 51% of output), low mechanization (<50%), high pest infestations, poor post-harvest infrastructure (4.5-6% crop loss in staples), limited market access, and credit constraints (70% rely on high-cost informal finance). It accounts for 18.3% of GVA and employs 45.6% of the workforce.

2. Tech-Enabled Transformation: Drones as Fulcrum: Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, including drones, are key enablers for transformation. The MeitY report projects digital agriculture could add ~$65 billion by 2025. Drones excel in precision farming (surveying, spraying), biomonitoring, crop health assessment, and yield estimation. RGB, thermal, multispectral, and LiDAR sensors enable diverse data capture.

3. Precision Farming Use Cases - Spraying: Drone spraying offers superior efficiency (2-3 hours vs 2-3 days), reduced input costs (30-50% reduction in chemicals, 75-90% reduction in manual labor costs), improved health outcomes (90-95% reduction in operator pesticide exposure), and potential yield increases (15-20%) due to precise targeting and reduced drift. Success stories in cumin, sugarcane, and potato highlight significant cost savings, improved yields, and phytotoxicity reduction.

4. Other Use Cases: Biomass monitoring, crop mapping for precision agriculture, disease and pest detection using AI and sensors, and post-harvest applications like locust control demonstrate potential.

5. Unlocking Potential: Scale-up requires:

   • Indigenous Manufacturing: Leveraging the PLI scheme for drones and components, targeting $50 billion investment and creating ~500,000 jobs. Establishing an ecosystem similar to the tractor industry's "Make in India" success.
   • Access to Capital: Need for customized financial products (lease-to-own, refinancing, insurance) through NBFCs, banks, and government schemes (APMCs partially outdated).
   • Skilling: Training programs closer to production areas (ITIs, polytechnics, villages) for pilots, maintenance, and agronomy technicians.
   • Education & Awareness: Disseminating SoPs via KVKs, agricultural universities, FPOs, and micro-level institutions (panchayats, VLEs). Word-of-mouth and demonstration crucial.

6. Enabling Landscape: Policy liberalization under Drone Rules 2021, relaxed rules for APMC imports, indigenous capabilities (Adani lead), direct applicability for spraying, and data sharing.

7. Stakeholder Roles: Collaboration between farmers (buyers/renters of drones-as-a-service), FPOs, agricultural universities, KVKs, government departments, manufacturers, service providers, and financial institutions is vital for scaling adoption.

8. Drones-as-a-Service (DaaS): Crucial modality to overcome initial cost barriers, similar to tractors, enabling access for smallholders while allowing larger operations to focus on core activities.

9. Conclusions: Drones can significantly boost Indian agriculture – potentially increasing GDP contribution by 1-1.5%, creating ~500,000 jobs, and improving livelihoods. Successful, evidence-based pilots (2-4 cropping seasons for algorithm refinement) at scale are needed, facilitated by a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach. Micromapping by drones helps identify disease/pests before symptoms appear.