Sharmila Yadav, once a housewife in rural India, always wanted to be a pilot. She is now living a little of her dream: remotely flying a heavy drone through the skies to cultivate the country's farmland.
Yadav, 35, is among hundreds of women trained to fly fertilizer spraying planes under the government-backed “Drone Sister” program.
The plan aims to help modernize Indian agriculture by reducing labor costs as well as saving time and water in an industry crippled by its reliance on outdated technology and the growing challenges of climate change.
It is also a harbinger of rural India's changing attitudes toward working women, who have traditionally found few opportunities to join the workforce and are often stigmatized for doing so.
“Before, it was difficult for women to leave the house. They were just supposed to do housework and take care of the kids,” said Yadav, a mother of two, after a day of work cruising a drone across the clear blue sky over a lush green field of young wheat stalks.
“Women who went out to work were looked down upon. They were mocked for neglecting their maternal duties. But now the mentality is gradually changing.”
Yadav was a housewife for 16 years after marrying her farmer husband, with few job opportunities for women in their small rural village near the town of Pataudi, a few hours' drive from the capital, New Delhi.
He will pocket 50,000 rupees ($600) after spraying 150 acres (60 hectares) of farmland twice in five weeks, a little more than double the average monthly income in his home state of Haryana.
But she said her new occupation was not just a “source of income” for her. “I feel very proud when someone calls me a pilot. “I’ve never sat on a plane, but now I feel like I’m flying on one,” she said.
Yadav is among the first group of 300 women trained by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), the country's largest chemical fertilizer manufacturer.
Women trained as pilots receive the 30kg (66lb) drones for free along with battery-powered vehicles to transport them.
Other fertilizer companies have also joined the program, whose goal is to train 15,000 “drone sisters” throughout the country.
“This scheme is not just about employment but also about empowerment and rural entrepreneurship,” said Yogendra Kumar, marketing director, IFFCO.
According to a government survey last year, just over 41 percent of rural Indian women are in the formal workforce, compared to 80 percent of rural men.
