DeHaat Inks Pact With Drone Destination To Offer Agri-Drone Solutions

Drone startup Drone Destination has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with agritech startup DeHaat to offer drone solutions for Indian farmers. 

The partnership will enable Drone Destination to offer drone spraying services while promoting DeHaat’s range of products including seeds and fertilisers across rural India. The drone tech startup told Inc42 that it will deploy its fleet of nearly 250 drones across the country for this initiative.

The agritech startup, through its network of 14,000+ centres, will generate leads for drone services and offer agricultural services directly to end-users. As part of this, the drone startup said that DeHaat’s app will be integrated with Drone Destination’s platform for seamless operation and booking management.

In a conversation with Inc42, Drone Destination CEO and founder Chyrag Sharmaa said, “We have our own Drone Hub on wheels, which are service vans with pilots and technicians always on the road. DeHaat centres will act as lead generation points for us. When bookings come up, our teams will visit the farmer, perform the spray service, and collect payment”.

Drone Destination also said that it will be registered as a service provider on DeHaat’s platform while the agritech major will also list its agricultural products and services on the drone tech startup’s platform.

Sharmaa added, “Our collaboration with DeHaat will increase our presence and enhance our network footprint. We are present in 12 states, DeHaat in 11, with an overlap in 7 states. This partnership allows us to increase capacity and demand per village or district.”

“… Our collaboration with Drone Destination represents another significant step forward in that direction. By integrating drone technology with our comprehensive agricultural services, we aim to provide farmers with cutting-edge tools that can increase crop yield and ensure sustainable farming practices,” said DeHaat cofounder and director Amrendra Singh.

Meanwhile, Sharmaa also told Inc42 that drones could be utilised to address labour shortages and other issues prevalent in the Indian agriculture space. 

He explained, “Drones address labour shortages, especially in crops like soybean and sugarcane where manual spraying can be dangerous or difficult. They also enable precision spraying and foliar application, which is particularly effective for nutrient absorption through leaves:.

This partnership comes two months after Drone Destination collaborated with the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) to set up a drone training centre at the National Science and Technology Council in Delhi. 

Founded in 2019 by Sharmaa, Drone Destination claims to be India’s largest drone pilot training and leading drone-as-a-service company. The company’s portfolio includes solutions for agriculture spray, aerial surveying, and asset inspection services. The company is also said to be working closely with Survey of India. 

It listed on the NSE Emerge platform in July last year.

Meanwhile, DeHaat, founded in 2012, operates a network of 14,000+ centres across 11 states, catering to 2.7 Mn+ farmers. The company offers services including distribution of agricultural inputs, farm advisory, financial services, and market linkages for selling farm produce.

The partnership comes at a time when the Centre has actively pitched for using drones to improve agricultural efficiency through schemes such as the Drone Didi scheme as well as the Kisan Drone scheme. 

Besides, the Centre last year banned imports of most drones in a bid to give a major fillip to the homegrown drone manufacturing ecosystem. As per an Inc42 report, the Indian drone tech space is expected to reach a market size of $13 Bn by 2030.

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