Agri-drone manufacturer IoTechWorld Avigation on Friday said it has signed an MoU with Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV), Parbani, Maharashtra to promote the use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the farm sector.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is aimed at creating awareness among farmers about the use of technology for increasing farm output, besides furthering research in drone technology.

The MoU was signed by Indra Mani, Vice Chancellor of VNMKV, while Anoop Kumar Upadhyay, Co-Founder & Director signed on the behalf of IoTechWorld Avigation.

Last month, IoTechWorld, an agritech startup founded in 2017, had announced a similar tie-up with Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (an agriculture university), Rahuri, Maharashtra.

Upadhyay said both parties will promote the use of drones in the agriculture sector and also work together to develop an agricultural training centre and Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) at VNMKV university.

Deepak Bhardwaj, Co-founder of IoTechWorld, said tie-ups with universities will help the company to further research in the drone technology.

IoTechWorld will be the technical partner in setting up of Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) for agricultural drones with VNMKV, which in turn will help reduce drone pilot shortage in the country, he added.

The start-up has its own RPTO where farmers are trained to fly drones. It helps farmers in obtaining drone pilot license.

IoTechWorld said the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has issued guidelines to make drone technology affordable to the stakeholders of the sector.