The use of this technology makes it possible to optimize the use of water when irrigating crops. One option is to rent it. Photo courtesy.
Producing more and spending less was the eternal dilemma of farmers. This arithmetic operation It must understand the need to reduce the use of natural resources such as water, which are increasingly scarce around the world. food production needs They are increasing.
The world population has exceeded 7.6 billion people and, according to estimates of United Nations, in 2030 there will be 8,600 inhabitants, or 14% more people to feed. The population of Ecuador has just exceeded 18 million. Which means you know they require more food to meet the demand of the population.
In this scenario, the smart agriculture. This concept involves advanced technologies, used in rural activities, which become more efficient so that the producer can make decisions that help him increase production and reduce expenses. One of the options is digitization of fields for optimize the process irrigation, for example.
Another option is the use of drone technology for irrigation, fumigation and fertilization of the agricultural crops.
Just these three activities they are the ones that cause the most expenses in the field. Also, in Ecuador, peasants they are getting old and agricultural work is less attractive to young people, who prefer to emigrate.
banana and rice
Los drones are up to 50 times faster to apply than chemical products crop protection compared to the typical knapsack sprayer. This reduces the time and cost that an agricultural producer spends on treatment of their crops.
By doing things efficiently and in less time, it generates a uniform efficiency of crop protection products. This results in higher productivity of the collected. Ecuador is the main producer banana in the world. The use of drones is being implemented in some plantations, with satisfactory results.
In another agricultural production area that has implemented this technology is in that of rice. In the case of weed, the costs of this technology are lower. One of the benefits is that it helps to better conserve vital resources, particularly in areas with water shortage.
“Especially in rice and banana crops, the drone application need up to 90% less water compared to backpack sprayers, ”said Hernán Camilo González, project coordinator for the region North of Latin America (LAN), of BASF’s Solutions for Agriculture division.
Possibility to rent
Drones used for agriculture have a few special features. Well, they serve since pest control also to spray water or chemicals on plantations. Its flight range and its carrying capacity is higher than that of a normal drone, can carry up to 30 liters of liquid.
The cost in Ecuadorian market reaches up to USD 20,000, which limits its penetration. That said, several companies in Ecuador rent them by the hour unmanned devices, which expands the possibilities of access to this technology. The cost varies according to the type of plantation and work. For example, the service fumigation of one hectare of rice Starts at 14 USD. In the banana caseor, the price starts at 20 USD.
The difference is in the Type of crop, since in the case of banana and plantain it has to go from bush to bush by watering, fertilizing or fumigating. This does not happen in rice, where the spray type what the drone does is different.
With the traditional way by knapsack spraying, either manually or by motor, it takes about five hours to spray one hectare.
Using drones, the same ground is covered in a time ranging from 15 to 30 minutesand almost no chemicals are wasted. According to researchit is estimated that a drone can spray up to 23 hectares per day with the support of only two people, approximately.
When using the traditional application the backpack can reach a maximum of five hectares per day and four to five people are used for this job. Furthermore, with the use of this technology, a sustainable practice. Performing irrigation tasks with a drone optimizes natural resource management and reduces the impact of agriculture in the environment.
–
