Jagraon (Punjab): Arvinder Kaur, a resident of village Swaddi Kalan, about 40 kilometres from the district headquarter Ludhiana, has earned the distinction of becoming the first woman drone pilot in her area, setting an example for other women to follow.
Arvinder Kaur, wife of Jagrup Singh, took special training from Chambal Fertilizer Company which provided her with a drone for spraying pesticides on crops.
Now a certified drone pilot, she is the most sought after name in the farming community due to her tech-driven skill acquired through sheer dedication and the will to excel in life.
Heaping praises on her, the village Sarpanch Jagdeep Singh Khalsa says Arvinder Kaur has brought fame to their village by learning the skill of flying drones. This will inspire and motivate other women.
The drone spray technology has brought about a revolutionary change in the agricultural sector, which should be adopted by more farmers. This technology saves the quantum of pesticides to be sprayed and the time spent on doing this. “This technology enables spraying one acre of crop in just 7 minutes resulting in a substantial increase of about 15% crop yield. It costs only Rs. 300 without any additional cost of pesticides,” she says.
Arvinder is a member of a self-help group (SHG) under the Punjab State Rural Livelihood Mission. She acknowledges the inspiration by the Block Program Manager Navdeep Singh in helping her make up her mind to get this skill training. Subsequently, she underwent 10-day special training at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) training center at Manesar, Gurugram in Haryana.
A gritty woman Arvinder has broken out of the traditional mould of a married rural woman who loves her self-employed status while simultaneously discharging her household responsibilities with equal care.
She wants other farm women to work shoulder-to-shoulder with their families in adopting modern technology in farming to make the agricultural a profitable business entity.
When asked, Block Program Manager Navdeep Singh is all praise for Arvinder’s success and enthusiasm in breaking a new ground and acquiring this unconventional skill in the male dominated agro-technology sphere.
Meanwhile, the village women of Siddhwan Bet Block under his charge are engaged in preparing various products such as pickles, papads, vermi-compost, phulkari, soap, candles, makki ki roti, sarson ka saag, and haldi ki pinniyan. These products are sold through stalls at fairs and various shops, as well as on platforms like Amazon.
Wonderful work. We should have thousands of drone pilots in Punjab and in Agriculture belts