Saharanpur is widely recognized as a prominent sugarcane belt, where local farmers are known for cultivating diverse varieties of the crop every year. However, during the monsoon season, sugarcane growers frequently face major hurdles due to crop diseases and severe waterlogging, which makes the manual application of fertilizers and pesticides extremely difficult. To address this persistent agricultural challenge, the sugarcane department has introduced an advanced technological solution that many farmers are yet to fully explore.
Deployment of 36 Drones Across Saharanpur Division
To ease the burden on growers, the sugarcane department has arranged a total of 36 agricultural drones across the cooperative sugarcane societies in all three districts of the Saharanpur division, namely Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, and Saharanpur. These drones allow farmers to accomplish hours of manual labor within minutes during the rainy season. Using these advanced devices, farmers can uniformly spray medicines and nutrients across approximately 6 bighas of sugarcane fields in just 5 minutes, even amidst challenging weather conditions.
Zero Financial Burden on Sugarcane Growers
A notable aspect of this initiative is that farmers are not required to bear any financial cost to utilize this technology. The cooperative sugarcane society provides both the drones and the necessary chemicals to the farmers completely free of charge. Growers who are still unaware of these modern facilities are strongly encouraged to immediately reach out to their nearest cooperative sugarcane society and take full advantage of the assistance being provided by the department.
Insights Shared by Deputy Sugarcane Commissioner Om Prakash Singh
Providing detailed context on the initiative, Deputy Sugarcane Commissioner Om Prakash Singh explained that all cooperative sugarcane societies, which count local farmers as members, are equipped with various modern machinery designed to ease agricultural tasks. Given the ongoing monsoon season, farmers often struggle to manually spray treatments on tall sugarcane crops when heavy rains create flooded fields, nutrient deficiencies, or sudden pest attacks.
Effective Spraying Even During Brief Weather Windows
To tackle situations where water stagnation prevents physical entry into the fields, the department has made these 36 drones available across the entire Saharanpur division. This technology offers immense practical benefits to the farming community. If the rain pauses for even half an hour, farmers can efficiently cover 1 एकड़ of land in just 5 minutes. Furthermore, if heavy showers resume shortly after the completion of the spray, a specialized sticker is mixed into the solution, ensuring that the medicine adheres to the crop and retains its effectiveness despite the rainfall.
