Beyond technology: How drone innovation can support India’s farming communities

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The farmer only needs to know the drone will take off, finish the job, and be ready again tomorrow

By Kajal Shah

Updated - November 01, 2026 at 10:00 AM.

a drone flying in a cloudy sky where the sun goes down | Photo Credit: mailfor

Imagine the scene of a farmer at the crack of dawn during the growing season of crops. The weather window is narrow, pests are rampant, and he begins by putting a big chemical spray tank on his back and walking row after row as the sun climbs. It is a tedious, exhausting process, and with chemicals being involved, it isn’t always safe either. This has been the way of farming for ages.

This is beginning to change with the advent of agricultural drones. Drones can do the spraying process within a short time span compared to humans and can even be safer for the farmers. If the use of the drone is efficient, then it can help to save water and pesticides and also provide the most valuable thing to a farmer - time.

However, the story here isn’t about the gadget. It is about the reliability of the technology that the users depend on. A farmer can’t risk using a machine that fails in the middle of a spraying operation because the cost of such a situation is not the inconvenience, but the crop itself.

The unassuming role of batteries

The performance and reliability of the drone depend heavily on the battery. Factors like high temperatures, dust exposure, working for hours on end, and frequent recharging put pressure on the batteries, and any battery that overheats or drains out fast is bound to cause a lot of trouble and increase replacement cost.

As a deep-tech startup in Bengaluru, this is the problem we work to solve. We design our battery architecture, thermal management system and Battery Management System in-house. Our packs are built to operate in conditions ranging from -40°C to +65°C, can charge up to 85 per cent in less than half an hour, and have a life of 500 to 800 cycles. That can mean more acres covered and fewer interruptions in the short period of time a farmer can spare for spraying his field.

From technology to livelihood

The positive points do not end with just a single use. Shared drone services and government schemes such as Namo Drone Didi, which provides women-led self-help groups with drones and pilot training, are converting drones into livelihood opportunities in the villages. A farmer, unable to afford a drone, can lease it per acre of land, while the youth of the village can earn a livelihood by operating it.

In order for this to happen, the machines need to be robust, easily maintained, and reasonably inexpensive to maintain. And here is where local manufacturing is important. In cases where batteries are manufactured locally, spare parts and maintenance services become more accessible and less vulnerable to import delays.

And there are some quiet wins, as well. Lower exposure to chemicals can mean safer workplaces, precision spraying will lead to healthier soil, and lighter loads of work may eventually bring young people to the field again.

Engineering to earn trust

Farmers of India have seen too many interesting technologies coming with great hopes and vanishing without a trace. Technologies that make an impact keep doing their job year after year, no matter what. Drone innovations will help farming communities not because of the drones themselves but because of the unspectacular engineering behind them: batteries, thermal and electronic systems that provide reliability for each of the flights.

The farmer who starts his day at dawn doesn’t care much about the battery management system. He only needs to know the drone will take off, finish the job, and be ready again tomorrow.

The author is the Co-Founder and CEO of Dreamfly Innovations.

Published on November 1, 2026

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