Chhattisgarh-based farmer buys a Rs 7 cr helicopter to spray pesticides on fields

The farmer said he would use the helicopter for spraying pesticides and also for other agricultural activities. He has enrolled his son and brother in Ujjain's Aviation Academy for pilot training.

Charla (Telangana): Using drones for spraying pesticides on agricultural fields is a common practice among farmers. Many farmers have already purchased drones for their fields. Now, a Chhattisgarh-based farmer has bought a helicopter for the same purpose.

Rajaram Tripathi of Chhattisgarh's Kondagaon district, located around 300 km away from Telangana, has got a helicopter worth Rs seven crore to monitor his 1000-acre farm. The Tripathi family has already booked a R-44 model (four seater) helicopter of Holland's Robinson Company. It will soon be used for spraying insecticides and undertaking other agricultural activities.

Rajaram said that he got the idea of deploying helicopters for spraying insecticides from the farmers of England and Germany. When Rajaram visited these countries he saw how helicopters effectively sprayed fertilisers on the fields. "I took the decision to buy a helicopter after assessing the success achieved by the farmers of those countries," he said. Also, his son and younger brother will be sent to Aviation Academy in Ujjain for pilot training.

Hailing from a farmer's family in Bastar (from which Kondagaon district was separated), Rajaram quit his bank job in 1998 to become a farmer. Presently, Bastar and Kondagaon districts cultivate white groundnut and black pepper. Rajaram also runs a herbal organisation with the help of 400 tribal families. He does organic farming on his 1000-acre plot.

Rajaram has received the 'Best Farmer Award' four times at the national level. His herbal organisation earns a turnover of Rs 25 crores a year. Also, Rajaram has started exporting black pepper to Europe and America.