Assessment of knowledge of drone pilots on standard operating procedures (SOPs) for drone operations in paddy

Introduction

Agriculture is undergoing rapid technological transformation with the increasing adoption of digital and precision farming technologies. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have emerged as promising tools for crop monitoring, pesticide spraying, nutrient application and other precision agricultural operations. Their use can improve operational efficiency, facilitate timely farm operations and reduce dependence on manual labour (Hafeez et al., 2023) [1] . In recent years, the use of agricultural drones for precision farming, efficiency and sustainability has also been emphasized. Paddy is one of the important crops in which drone-based spraying has considerable potential, particularly for crop protection operations. Traditional pesticide application techniques in paddy fields are limited by labour shortages, are impractical in standing crops and delay in taking timely actions for plant protection. Drone spraying can overcome some of these limitations by enabling rapid application without requiring operators to physically enter the crop field. However, studies on UAV application in paddy have shown that spray performance is influenced by factors such as nozzle type, flight velocity, atomization and other operational parameters (Wongsuk et al., 2024) [2] . The effective and safe utilization of agricultural drones largely depends upon the technical competency of drone pilots. Operators require adequate knowledge regarding preflight inspection, flight planning, calibration, battery management, payload handling, spray parameters, weather conditions, safety precautions, emergency procedures and post-flight maintenance. Recognizing the importance of standardized operations, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India, issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the use of drones in pesticide application for crop protection and spraying of soil and crop nutrients (Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, 2021) [3] . The knowledge level of drone pilots may vary according to their socio-personal, psychological, communication and professional characteristics. Factors such as digital literacy, extension contact, innovativeness, risk orientation, economic motivation, training exposure and practical experience may influence their ability to acquire and apply technical knowledge. Lack of training and skill development has also www.extensionjournal.com been identified as an important challenge affecting wider adoption of agricultural drone technology in India. Keeping this in view, the present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge level of drone pilots on Standard Operating Procedures in drone operations for paddy crop management and to analyse the relationship and contribution of selected profile characteristics towards their knowledge level.

Methodology

The present study was conducted among drone pilots who are involved in agricultural drone operations in Telangana State. The research design adopted was Ex-post facto where the characteristics of the respondents and their knowledge level were examined without manipulation. A total of 120 drone pilots were selected as respondents for the study. The knowledge level of drone pilots regarding Standard Operating Procedures in drone operations for paddy crop management was assessed using a structured knowledge test. The knowledge test covered various aspects of drone operations and Standard Operating Procedures related to paddy crop management. Based on the knowledge scores obtained, the respondents were categorized into low, medium and high knowledge categories. The profile characteristics selected for the study included age, education, digital literacy, extension contact, innovativeness, risk orientation, annual income, economic motivation, experience as a drone pilot and training exposure. The collected data was analysed to identify the relationship and contribution of the selected profile characteristics to the knowledge level of drone pilots by frequency, percentage, correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis.

Results and Discussion

Knowledge level of drone pilots regarding Standard Operating Procedures

The data presented in Table 1 revealed that the majority of the respondents (42.50%) had medium level of knowledge regarding Standard Operating Procedures in drone operations, followed by high (31.67%) and low (25.83%) levels of knowledge. The results presented above indicate that the majority of the drone pilots had medium level of knowledge regarding Standard Operating Procedures in drone operations. The probable reason for this might be that agricultural drone technology is a relatively new field and requires continuous updating of technical knowledge regarding operational procedures, safety measures and emerging technological developments. The considerable proportion of respondents with high knowledge level might be due to their practical experience in drone operations, exposure to technical information and repeated involvement in field-level drone spraying activities. Continuous engagement in drone operations would provide opportunities for experiential learning and enable pilots to understand different technical and operational aspects more effectively. However, 25.83 per cent of the respondents had low level of knowledge, indicating the need for improving their technical competency. Hence, to bring the knowledge level of drone pilots to higher categories, capacity building through regular training programmes, practical demonstrations and hands-on technical sessions is required.

Relationship between profile characteristics and knowledge level of drone pilots

In order to study the relationship between the knowledge level of drone pilots and their profile characteristics, correlation coefficient (r) values were computed.

Contribution of profile characteristics towards knowledge level of drone pilots

The contribution of selected profile characteristics towards the knowledge level of drone pilots was analysed using multiple regression analysis. The results presented in Table 3 revealed that innovativeness and experience as a drone pilot significantly contributed towards explaining the variation in knowledge level. Innovativeness had a significant regression coefficient (b = 0.122) at the five per cent level of probability. The result indicates that respondents possessing greater innovativeness were more likely to acquire higher levels of knowledge regarding drone operations and Standard Operating Procedures. Innovative individuals generally show greater interest in adopting and experimenting with new technologies and continuously seek updated information. Experience as a drone pilot also significantly contributed towards knowledge level. Years engaged in drone operations had a regression coefficient of 1.689 and was significant at the one per cent level of probability. Similarly, the number of drone operations conducted per season significantly contributed towards knowledge level. The significant contribution of experience indicates that continuous involvement in drone operations provides opportunities for practical learning. More years of engagement and repeated field-level operations would enable drone pilots to understand technical problems, operational requirements and Standard Operating Procedures more effectively.

The remaining profile characteristics did not show significant independent contribution towards knowledge level after controlling for other variables in the regression model. This indicates that although some variables were positively associated with knowledge, their independent contribution became less pronounced when all the selected characteristics were considered simultaneously. The coefficient of determination (R² = 0.310) indicated that the selected profile characteristics together explained 31.00 per cent of the variation in knowledge level. The adjusted R² value was 0.240 and the overall regression model was statistically significant with an F value of 4.421.

The findings indicate that behavioural characteristics, particularly innovativeness, and practical operational experience play an important role in determining the knowledge level of drone pilots.

Conclusion

The study revealed that majority of the drone pilots had medium level of knowledge regarding Standard Operating Procedures in drone operations for paddy crop management, followed by high and low levels of knowledge. The findings indicate that although a considerable proportion of drone pilots possessed adequate knowledge, there is still scope for improving their technical competency. Digital literacy, extension contact, innovativeness, economic motivation and years engaged in drone operations had a positive and highly significant relationship with knowledge level. Risk orientation, number of drone operations conducted per season and training exposure had a positive and significant relationship. Age, education and annual income had a non-significant relationship with knowledge level. The regression analysis revealed that innovativeness and practical experience as a drone pilot significantly contributed towards variation in knowledge level. The selected profile characteristics together explained 31.00 per cent of the variation in knowledge level. The probable reason for the predominance of medium www.extensionjournal.com knowledge level might be that agricultural drone technology is continuously evolving and requires regular updating of technical knowledge and operational skills. Hence, to bring the knowledge level of drone pilots to higher categories, continuous capacity building through refresher training programmes, hands-on demonstrations and increased fieldlevel exposure is required. Special emphasis may be given to strengthening digital competency, encouraging innovativeness and providing opportunities for practical learning to ensure safe and efficient implementation of Standard Operating Procedures in agricultural drone operations.

References

1. Hafeez A, Husain MA, Singh SP, Chauhan A, Khan MT, Kumar N, et al. Implementation of drone technology for farm monitoring and pesticide spraying: a review. Information Processing in Agriculture. 2023;10(2):192203.
2. Wongsuk S, Qi P, Wang C, Zeng A, Sun F, Yu F, et al. Spray performance and control efficacy against pests in paddy rice by UAV-based pesticide application: effects of atomization, UAV configuration and flight velocity. Pest Management Science. 2024;80(4):2072-2084.
3. Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India. Standard operating procedures for use of drones in pesticide application for crop protection and spraying of soil and crop nutrients. New Delhi: Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India; 2021.
4. García-Munguía A, Guerra-Ávila PL, Islas-Ojeda E, Flores-Sánchez JL, Vázquez-Martínez O, GarcíaMunguía AM, et al. A review of drone technology and operation processes in agricultural crop spraying. Drones. 2024;8(11):674.