AVPL to train agri drone operators to work in Australia, Brazil, Spain

AITMC Ventures Limited (AVPL) International, an integrated agri-drone company, will set up  20 World Skill and Incubation hubs and 50 Global Skill and Incubation hubs in 12 States to train agriculture drone pilots and entrepreneurs, said Preet Sandhu, co-founder and Chairman, AVPL International.

In the first phase, these hubs, to be created in partnership with the National Skill Development Council (NSDC) will be used to train and send people to Australia, Brazil, Latin America, and Spain over the next two years, she told businessline in an online interaction.

Tie-up with IFFCO

The Gurugram-based company has signed an agreement with multi-state cooperative fertiliser firm IFFCO to collaborate on drone spraying in over 50 lakh hectares across 8 States in the country. 

“The drone spraying project is a direct one which could earn the company ₹200 crore. If we get ₹400 for spraying one acre, we will get that much. We will hire 7,000 pilots who will spray 10 acres a day each. In 90 days, we would have sprayed on 63 lakh acres,” she said.   

Founded in 2016, AVPL has been training farmers to empower their families. “We are providing training on soil testing on pesticide application on agri inputs. Since 2021, we have transferred the pesticide application training into pesticide spraying by drones upgraded version of pesticide applications,” said Sandhu. 

Drone spraying will help farmers overcome any after-effects of pesticide spraying, while water consumption is down to almost 15 per cent to around 16 litres per acre from 100-120 litres.  

Drone manufacturing

AVPL is the largest remote pilot training organisation (RPTO). and it got clearance for drone manufacturing this year, she said. “We have the largest drone training institutes in the country,” she said. 

The company has about 35 drone servicing centres, which are also associated with NSDC and the Ministry of Skill Development Entrepreneurship.

On setting up the skill and incubation hubs, Sandhu said the 20 World Skill and Incubation hubs are institutions with 50,000-plus sq ft area, while the Global Skill and Incubation hubs will have 25,000 sq ft area. 

In countries such as Brazil, Australia, and Latin America, the land holdings are huge, and individual farmers can buy drones to participate in various farm activities. “We need to train pilots to export drones. AVPL will be the first company in India focusing on international placements of drone pilots along with domestic domestic deployment in each village,” the company’s co-founder and chairman said.

Comprehensive training

As regards pilot drones for farmers in the country, she said that as Indian farmers will not be able to buy drones given their small land holdings, these pilots can work for the company when it leases out drones in villages. They can also become entrepreneurs and offer drone-as-a-service to farmers. 

On training, Sandhu said the company provides RPTO training of 5 days followed by comprehensive remote pilot training. Drone pilots need Directorate-General of Civil Aviation clearance to get an RPTO license. 

These candidates will then take comprehensive 3-month training to become agriculture drone pilots or kisan drone operators. “You first need a drone pilot licence before you can start flying one,” she said. 

During the training for agriculture drones, the company provides them with on-the-job training for three months, Sandhu said. 

Dual certification

Candidates who successfully undergo the agri drone pilot training will get a dual certification, including the one from NSDC. The other certification will be from countries such as Australia or Brazil accreditation bodies. “If a person wants to migrate to Australia as an agri drone pilot, he/she needs dual certification, including from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority,” the company co-founder and Chairman said.

AVPL has yet to begin training pilots who will be associated with the Uttar Pradesh government. “We expect to integrate the training course by August 2024. We got everything in place in March only,” she said. 

The company has taken on a 20-year term lease from Uttar Pradesh’s 17 industrial training institutes and three polytechnics for this. It will start training 10,000 candidates, 2,500 in each of these institutions.

Besides training drone pilots, the company will provide training on drone service technicians besides agri inputs, she said, adding that it will empower youth to seek jobs abroad. 

4 more RPTOs on cards

The 5-day drone training will be given at its four Haryana RPTOs – Gurugram, Jhajjar, Panipat and Sirsa. And Kisan drone operator training will be provided in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujrat, Haryana and Rajasthan.

It will set up four more RPTOs — two in Karnataka and two in Gujarat — and has submitted applications for these. 

AVPL International has two subsidiaries – SPH Aviation, the RPTO Wing that provides drone training, and Farmer City, a full-stack agriculture firm.  Under Farmer City, the company will deploy  a person with drones to each village. In addition to drone service, they  will provide crop inputs. 

“Whoever hires drones can buy pesticides then and there. And vice-versa,” Sandhu said, adding that it would be a one-stop solution for farmers,” said Sandhu.  

She said the company has got clearance in May 2024  to produce drones, and the first batch of 500 drones will be launched commercially this month. The drones will cost between ₹7 lakh and ₹10 lakh.  

To train individuals

AVPL will target youth who wish to live and work  in the village. The company will work with the youth on two models: one as the company’s retailer and the other as hiring them to operate its agricultural drones.

Under the ambit of NSDC, AVPL will train 80,000 agri entrepreneurs who will operate the agri-input retail shops. 

On working with farmer producer organisations (FPOs), Sandhu said it would prefer to train an individual and ask that person to provide drone service to those who need it.  

AVPL works with the Haryana Agriculture Department and the skill development mission under the Ministry of Youth Empowerment. As per a memorandum of understanding, the company will train 300 farmers and 800 drone operators.