Asif Mahmood, a progressive farmer from Punjab with 300 acres, visits his neighbor Tariq Hussain's farm to see the agricultural drone that's been the talk of the local farming community.
The Farm Visit
Tariq Hussain: Asif bhai, welcome! I know you've been curious about the drone since I started using it last season.
Asif Mahmood: Tariq, everyone at the market is talking about it. Your yields are up, your input costs are down—what's the secret?
Tariq Hussain: No secret. Just technology that finally makes sense for Pakistani farmers. Come, let me show you.
Asif Mahmood: I've looked at commercial drones before. They want six lakh, eight lakh rupees. For a farmer like me, that's impossible.
Tariq Hussain: That's exactly why I ignored drones for years. Then Big0 built something specifically for us.
The Cost Problem
Asif Mahmood: What do you mean, for us?
Tariq Hussain: Pakistani farmers. Our conditions, our budgets, our crop types. The international drones are designed for American farms—thousands of acres, huge budgets, different crops entirely.
Asif Mahmood: Those drones cost as much as a good tractor.
Tariq Hussain: Exactly. Big0's drone costs about 3.5 lakh. Still significant, but achievable. And the ROI comes fast—I calculated payback within eighteen months on my operation.
Asif Mahmood: Three and a half lakh? That's 65% less than what I was quoted for commercial alternatives.
Tariq Hussain: Same performance capability. Different design philosophy. They optimized for our reality instead of trying to sell us Western equipment.
The Technology
Asif Mahmood: Walk me through how it works.
Tariq Hussain: The drone carries pesticide or fertilizer in a tank. GPS navigation plans the flight path across the field. It sprays precisely where needed, adjusting for wind, maintaining consistent coverage.
Asif Mahmood: How much area can you cover?
Tariq Hussain: An acre in about seven and a half minutes. Compare that to manual spraying—sixteen minutes, maybe more, with laborers who get tired and inconsistent as the day goes on.
Asif Mahmood: That's almost twice as fast.
Tariq Hussain: And more accurate. The spray pattern is uniform. No missed spots, no over-application. Every area gets exactly what it needs.
The Water Savings
Asif Mahmood: I heard you're using less water too?
Tariq Hussain: This was the biggest surprise. Manual spraying uses 59 liters of water per acre. The drone uses 10 liters.
Asif Mahmood: Ten liters? That can't be right.
Tariq Hussain: Precision application. The drone delivers smaller, more targeted droplets directly to the plants. No waste from overspray, no runoff. The chemical concentration stays optimal even with less water.
Asif Mahmood: With water becoming more expensive and harder to get, that matters.
Tariq Hussain: It matters enormously. My water costs dropped significantly. In a drought year, this could be the difference between a viable crop and a loss.
The Results
Asif Mahmood: What about your actual crop outcomes?
Tariq Hussain: Better pest control because coverage is more consistent. Healthier plants because they're not getting over-sprayed in some areas and under-treated in others. My cotton yield improved 12% last season.
Asif Mahmood: Twelve percent improvement?
Tariq Hussain: Consistent input application. Every plant gets what it needs when it needs it. The precision makes a difference across hundreds of acres.
Asif Mahmood: And the laborers? What do they think?
Tariq Hussain: They're happier. Spraying pesticides is dangerous work—exposure risks, carrying heavy equipment in the heat. Now they monitor the drone, maintain it, handle loading. Safer, less physically demanding.
The Practical Concerns
Asif Mahmood: What about learning to operate it? I'm not a technology expert.
Tariq Hussain: Neither am I. Big0 provided training—two days. The controls are simpler than you'd expect. My son learned it even faster than I did.
Asif Mahmood: What about maintenance?
Tariq Hussain: Basic maintenance I handle myself—cleaning, battery care. For anything more complex, they have support available. Parts are accessible, not proprietary components you can't find.
Asif Mahmood: Battery life?
Tariq Hussain: Multiple battery packs. While one charges, I fly with another. A full day's operation is no problem with proper planning.
The Decision
Asif Mahmood: Tariq, I'm convinced. How do I get one?
Tariq Hussain: Contact Big0. They'll assess your farm size, your crop types, your specific needs. The system can be customized—tank capacity, spray nozzle configuration, flight patterns.
Asif Mahmood: What should I prepare?
Tariq Hussain: Know your acreage, your crop calendar, your current input costs. They'll help you calculate the ROI for your specific situation.
Asif Mahmood: My worry is always after-sale. What if something breaks?
Tariq Hussain: Their support has been good. I had a motor issue three months in—resolved within a week. They understand that when the drone is down during spraying season, we're losing money.
The Bigger Picture
Asif Mahmood: You know what strikes me? We've always been told Pakistani farmers can't afford advanced technology.
Tariq Hussain: We couldn't afford Western technology designed for Western budgets. But technology designed for our conditions, our constraints? That's different.
Asif Mahmood: This could change everything for farms like ours.
Tariq Hussain: It already is. I know seven other farmers in this district who've bought drones since seeing mine. The word spreads when results are visible.
Asif Mahmood: Better yields, lower costs, less water, safer for workers. What's not to like?
Tariq Hussain: Nothing. This is how technology should work—solving real problems for the people who need solutions, not just the people who can afford premium prices.
Asif Mahmood: Tariq bhai, thank you for showing me everything. I'm calling Big0 tomorrow.
Tariq Hussain: Good decision, Asif. Next season, we'll compare notes on our results. Two neighbors with precision agriculture—the future has arrived in Punjab.