FIA QD10 agriculture drone spraying fertilizer, nutrients, and bio-pesticides over a field, increasing crop yield and reducing fertilizer use by 70%, covering up to three acres in one flight.

Devika and Devan Chandrasekharan, siblings from a farming family in Alappuzha, surrounded by green fields, reflecting their childhood memories and love for agriculture.

Devika and Devan Chandrasekharan, with backgrounds in electrical and electronics engineering and aeronautical engineering, are inspired to innovate after witnessing the devastating impact of the 2018 Kerala floods on the farming community.

Devan Chandrasekharan explains how Kerala fertile land, devastated by the 2018 floods and loss of topsoil, inspired their mission to help farmers with a practical innovation to restore good yields.

In 2020, Devika and Devan Chandrasekharan founded Fuselage Innovations, a startup offering agricultural aerial plant surveys and drone-based fertilizer spraying, leading to optimal resource utilization and improved crop production.

Fuselage Innovations manufactures customized Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for plant mapping and aerial spraying. Devan explains, “Manual crop scouting is a thing of the past. Aerial surveys provide valuable data quickly and autonomously. Our high-precision UAVs are designed for agriculture missions, soil monitoring, and vegetation management.” The Aerial Spraying UAV is optimized for smart agriculture, supporting higher payloads and improving the cost-effectiveness of ultra-low volume nutrient spraying, delivering precise results in less time.

The startup performs a detailed analysis of soil types, crops, and required nutrients to design their drones. This process includes direct farm visits to ensure tailored solutions for each agricultural need.

Devan explains that their aerial spraying UAVs can cover up to 50 acres in a day using minimal resources. Fuselage charges Rs 5,000 per acre and manufactures both agricultural drones and FPV (first-person view) drones.

The 26-year-old freelancer, sharing insights on their journey, mentions working on similar projects in the past. Devika, who is involved in the business side of things, takes care of that aspect entirely. Initially, the innovation posed challenges, but with the support of grants, funds, and timely recognition, things fell into place. As a result, they are now able to assist more than 370 farmers across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Maharashtra.

He adds, Fuselage is the first startup in Kerala to hold permits from the Union Ministry of Agriculture and the Department of Civil Aviation. The company advisors include CA Girishankar, design engineer Athul Chandran, and Dr. Berin Pathrose from the Department of Entomology at Kerala Agricultural University.

Devan explains, by spending Rs 5,000 on the process, farmers save around Rs 15,000 in labour costs, fertilizer prices, and consumption rates. Additionally, there is a visible growth in yield, which can increase by up to 40 percent.

He adds that some of the top clients of the company include the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Kerala Centre for Pest Management, Synthite Industries Pvt Ltd., and Harrison Malayalam Limited.

Shinoj Subramaniyam, senior scientist at Ernakulam Krishi Vigyan Kendra, says, Fuselage Innovations has assisted Ernakulam KVK in testing organic pesticides. It is a promising technology that can replace labor in the paddy field. The spraying can be done on the 70th day of sowing to achieve the best results.

Sameer P, who cultivates paddy on 170 acres of land in Cherthala, says “This method is truly a boon for large-scale farmers like me. It reduces manual labor and the associated costs. Typically, the process requires four rounds with multiple laborers. Using drones, it completes the task in just two rounds at half the cost. It also covers every inch of the farm without damaging the plants.”

He says that using drones also helps control the amount of fertilizer released. Only half the amount of pesticides and fertilizers are used in the spraying method, he adds.

Incorporated in July 2020, the startup developed its prototypes of unmanned aerial vehicles for the Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat project focused on precision farming. We received grants and seed fund assistance from the PM initiative through the Ministry of Agriculture to complete the project. Over the 16-month journey, we achieved four milestones with the support of various ecosystem partners, says Devan with pride.

The startup secured a grant through the Ministry of Electronics Nidhi Prayas program. Agnii Invest India listed the project on their portal, and the United Nations Development Program recognized the innovation under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) category, specifically zero hunger, awarding the startup a grant for prototype development. The TCS Foundation initiative Digital Impact Square also recognized our project as an innovation in agriculture, and we received grants from them too. We were announced as the best performing startup in the Hackathon SCOUT 2021, organized by STPI Bhuvaneswar and the Ministry of Electronics, he added.

All these recognitions have come as a surprise to us. We had started off thinking this was going to be a challenging business. More than just being a company looking for profits, we feel content that we are able to help farmers, without whom our very survival is at stake, says Devika.

You can contact Fuselage Innovations through their website at www.fuselage.co.in.

Edited by Gayathri