New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI) Syngenta India on Wednesday announced it has signed a pact with drone manufacturer IoTechWorld Avigation for facilitating introduction of drone spraying across the country.

Under this agreement, the two companies will work on creating employment opportunities for rural youth by training and preparing them for using drone technology, the company said in a statement.

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IoTech's drone 'Agribot' is being used across all of Syngenta's spray services and products.

"In the first phase, 200 rural youth will be trained and employed for spraying," Syngenta India Managing Director and Country Head Susheel Kumar said.

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A large-scale trials over 400 acres were conducted and data submitted to regulators for 20 crops, he added.

Syngenta was the first private company to get approval from the Central Insecticides Board for use of drones for spraying of its product in Amristar on paddy crop to protect against fungal infections, Blast and Sheath Blight.

The company said it has organised 'Drone Yatra' under which a drone awareness van moved across 17,000 kilometres in 13 states reaching out to 15,000 farmers and giving them demos on drone spraying.

Syngenta works closely with Syngenta Foundation India in training agri-entrepreneurs. Under this programme, village youth are identified, trained and certified by National Institute of Agriculture Marketing (NIAM) and mentored to build businesses that increase smallholder farmer incomes, efficiency and reduce climate footprint through better and cheaper inputs, access to markets, credit, and insurance.

Around 10,911 agri-entrepreneurs have been trained so far across India, the statement added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)