Adhering to most modern and scientific practices elsewhere, the Sri Lanka Army for the first time on Friday (June 02) morning used drone technology on experimental basis for spraying of insecticides and herbicides for Army paddy cultivations of 8.5 acres around the Army HQ complex in Sri Jayawardenapura.
The project was initiated on a concept of the Commander of the Army, Lieutenant General Vikum Liyanage RWP RSP ndu, Major General W.B.S.M Abeysekara RSP USP, Director General Financial Management and Colonel Commandant of Sri Lanka Army Corps of Agriculture and Livestock (SLACAL) in an attempt to reduce the cost and maximize the impact of such practices.
The first phase was launched as a demonstration project in collaboration with Aerogeni (Pvt) Ltd, affiliated with Sri Pola (Pvt) Ltd under the supervision of Brigadier A.K Rajapaksa RSP, Director, Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock and Captain W.A.A.K.Y Wickramasinghe of 2 (V) SLACAL.
Accordingly, 3 representatives of Aerogeni (Pvt) Ltd arrived with their drones and equipment and demonstrated the techniques of spraying of insecticides and herbicides in the presence of the troops in the paddy-field patch, managed by 2 (V) SLACAL in Sri Jayawardenapura.