Rallis India, Garuda Aerospace Ink Pact To Boost Fertiliser Spraying Via Drones

Garuda Aerospace Pvt. and Rallis India Ltd. have signed an agreement to further the usage of drones in the area of fertiliser spraying, the companies announced today.

"Rallis will supply pesticides and crop nutrients to Garuda Aerospace for a pilot demonstration and the spraying of pesticides on fields through drones, mainly in the states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh," a press release said.

Garuda's drone pilots will conduct demonstrations on approximately 1,000 acres of land on crops such as paddy, onion, Bengal gram, wheat, and vegetables using Rallis' chemicals as part of the deal.

While the pact doesn't make mention of any definitive figures, Garuda Aerospace has a fleet of 400 drones and over 500 pilots in 26 locations across the country, and Rallis holds a strong distribution network for crop care and seeds, reaching 40,000 retail counters across over 80% of India's districts.

S Nagarajan, chief operating officer at Rallis India, said that the company is moving rapidly toward a "tech-adapted environment".

"At Rallis India, we have initiated trials and experiments for our product approvals for label expansion for drone spray. It would be an emerging segment for the industry, and we plan to emerge fast. This is being done in collaboration with service providers for drone application in the crop protection and crop nutrition sectors...," he said, in the press release.

"This collaboration is aimed at not only educating farmers and channel partners but also providing a first-hand experience of the advantages of drone applications."

Agnishwar Jayaprakash, founder and chief executive officer at Garuda Aerospace, said partnerships such as these are the "best way" for drones to really start getting adopted.

"Rallis has one of the best channels and penetration in agriculture. The fact that Tata Group is willing to work in the drone sector is great. There's a clear mass movement toward drones by industry behemoths, both farm equipment firms and pesticide makers. It's the biggest indication and a true validation that drones are beneficial, not just because the government is pushing it," Jayaprakash said, in a telephonic interview.

Garuda has now worked with companies like tractor maker TAFE Ltd., ITC Ltd., Insecticide India Ltd., and Dhanuka Agritech Ltd., he said.

"Rallis has a huge reach that we don't. We can't alone push the use of drones to each district, but it is large players like Rallis that have offices everywhere."

Jayaprakash said that the pact is also a sign that companies are moving towards drones for efficiency and to avoid flak for wasting and overusing chemicals.

Without delving further, he said that a "significant" amount of drones will be utilised under the project via joint service contracts.

Shares of Rallis India gained about 2% after the announcement.