Kerala Siblings Triple Farm Profits With Two Smart Drones

Two siblings from Kerala just found a way to help struggling farmers make three times more money while using a fraction of the chemicals.

Devika and Devan Chandrasekharan watched the 2018 Kerala floods wash away fertile topsoil from thousands of farms. The disaster inspired these engineers to launch Fuselage Innovations in 2020 with a bold mission: use drones to heal the land and boost harvests.

They created two cloud-connected drones that work as a tag team. Niriksh flies over fields with sensors that spot problems like pests and nutrient gaps before they become visible to the human eye. Instead of blanket-spraying entire crops the old way, the drone pinpoints exactly which plants need help.

Then Fiya takes over. This second drone precisely sprays only the troubled areas, cutting chemical use dramatically.

The results stunned even the siblings. Farmers following their precision protocols saw yields jump 25 to 35 percent. Fertilizer and nutrient use dropped by 75 percent. When you grow more while spending less, profits soar.

"Efficiently, farmers' profits have become three times," Devan tells reporters. That's not marketing talk. It's math that's changing lives across Kerala.

The startup offers two paths for farmers. Those with capital can buy the drones outright for around $5,000 to $9,000. But recognizing that many farmers can't afford that upfront cost, the siblings also charge $25 to $60 per acre as a service.

More than 3,500 farmers have already signed on. Each one is producing more food with fewer chemicals, proving that technology and tradition can work together.

The Ripple Effect

This innovation reaches far beyond individual bank accounts. When farmers use 75% less fertilizer, they're protecting groundwater and soil health for future generations. When yields increase by a third, food security gets stronger for entire regions.

The Kerala floods destroyed land, but they also planted a seed of innovation. That seed has grown into a solution that's feeding families, healing earth, and proving that disasters can spark breakthroughs when the right people pay attention.

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