As Goa’s farmers grapple with an acute short age of labour and steadily ris ing cultivation costs, the State Agriculture Department is looking to technology to keep paddy cultivation viable. On Tuesday, it showcased the potential of precision farm ing through a live demonstra tion of an agricultural drone in a mechanised paddy field at Chinchinim, highlighting how automation could re shape the future of farming in the State. Organised by the Direc torate of Agriculture at the initiative of Secretary (Agri culture) Nikhil Dessai, IAS, the demonstration exposed farmers, agriculture officials, students and public repre sentatives to drone-assisted spraying of fertilisers and pesticides — a technology that promises to reduce de pendence on manual labour while improving efficiency, accuracy and safety.
The live demonstration was conducted by Ram Ku mar of ITI Limited, Bengalu ru, who explained how ag ricultural drones can spray fertilisers and pesticides with greater precision while sig nificantly reducing the time and manpower required for the task. Pointing to the growing rel evance of drone technology in Indian agriculture, he said it offers a practical solution as the sector struggles with an acute labour shortage and escalating production costs. He proposed a decen tralised model under which one agricultural drone could be deployed in every village panchayat, enabling farmers to access spraying services whenever required. Demonstrating the opera tion, Ram Kumar explained how the required quantity of water-soluble fertilisers or pesticides is calculated, mixed with water and load ed into the drone before it is flown over the fields.
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He also advised farmers to undertake spraying only dur ing calm weather conditions, preferably in the early morn ing or late evening, while ensuring there is no rainfall for at least four hours after application to maximise the effective ness of the chemicals. Velim MLA Cruz Silva, who attended the programme, welcomed the initiative and said wider adoption of such technology could help address some of the structural chal lenges confronting Goa’s agriculture. He said the proposal to make one agricultural drone available in every village panchayat would significantly benefit farmers by improving efficiency, reducing depend ence on manual labour and lowering cultivation expenses. The demonstration was held in a mechanised transplant ed paddy field, reinforcing the Agriculture Department’s push towards mechanisation across different stages of cul tivation. Assistant Director of Agriculture (Mechanical Wing) Prasanna Kumar highlighted another success story from the same region, praising Fr George Quadros of the Don Bosco Society, Loutolim, for pioneering mechanised paddy transplantation in Goa over the past decade.
He also lauded the Chinchinim Agricultural Club, led by its President Ag nelo Furtado, for bringing nearly 30 hectares of fallow pad dy land back under cultivation through the Directorate’s Community Farming Project. Linking technology with community participation, Fr George Quadros said the success of the Community Farm ing initiative in Chinchinim was the result of close coopera tion between farmers, local institutions and the Agriculture Department. He urged other villages across Goa to adopt similar community farming models to revive abandoned agricultural land and strengthen food production.
Earlier, Zonal Agriculture Officer, Margao, Shariff Furta do welcomed the gathering and outlined the advantages of drone-based spraying in agriculture. The programme was attended by Chinchinim Sarpanch Gerson Gomes, BSc Agriculture students from the College of Agriculture, Old Goa, undergoing their Rural Agricultural Work Experience (RAWE) programme in Loutolim and Curtorim, along with a large number of local farmers.
