For the first time, women leaders of self help groups (SHGs) in a village in Ahmedabad’s Dholka will be trained to become natural farming experts and ‘drone sakhi’.

As a part of ‘Paras Parv’, the Indian Institute of Sustainability (IIS), Gujarat University trained 75 women to operate drones for farming at Kelia Vasna village of Dholka on Feb 4.

“The department of rural development provided a total of 20 drones worth ₹4 lakh to the women of the SHG for natural farming while we trained them to operate these drones,” said Sudhanshu Jangir, director at the IIS.

Every SHG includes ten women, and a total of 75 women leaders of such groups have been given the training in drone technology for farming.

The women of the village will now sprinkle gau-mutra (cow urine) and other natural mixtures through drones to initiate natural farming.

The event was attended by Dholka MLA Kiritsinh Dabhi and MP of Kheda, union minister of state for communications Devusinh Chauhan, vice chancellor of Gujarat University, Neerja Gupta, registrar of the university, PM Patel, experts, professors and officers of the university, BJP office bearers, workers, and farmers of the taluka.

Natural farming refers to farming without chemicals and relying on livestock. Rooted in agro-ecology, the natural farming system mixes crops, trees, and livestock, making the best use of the functional biodiversity of the region.

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