Women pilot farm drones, earning a living and some independence

The drones can cover up to 10 acres (4 hectares) of land per day, the women said, from which they can earn up to 4,500 rupees ($52).

A group of women in rural India has found an unexpected path to earn an income and some independence: operating drones for agricultural uses such as crop spraying.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government launched the so-called "Drone Didi" or "Drone Sisters" initiative in 2023 and so far 500 drones have been distributed, the Agriculture Ministry said in parliament in December.

The programme equips women-led self-help groups with drones to provide agricultural services, aiming to empower them and enhance agricultural efficiency. It has a target of distributing 15,000 such devices.

Rupinder Kaur, a resident of the northern, breadbasket state of Punjab, enrolled in the programme in 2024 and uses industrial-sized drones weighing between 25 kg and 35 kg (55-77 lb) to spray pesticides and fertilizers on farmland.

The task involves filling up canisters on the drones with the chemicals, and then manoeuvring the devices remotely over the fields to spray the crops.

"This is not an easy task...especially for women who were (earlier) staying at home ... this work has increased respect for us in society and in the home and family," she told Reuters.

The drones can cover up to 10 acres (4 hectares) of land per day, the women said, from which they can earn up to 4,500 rupees ($52).

Farmers say the devices also help save time, eliminate the need to find labourers to do such work on the ground, and remove the dangers posed by scorpions and other reptiles that may be lurking in the fields.

"Our house runs well from the earnings," said Rajbir Kaur, another drone pilot. "I can give myself and my children a good education and a good career."