Agriculture makes way for pastures and cropland to cover over half of the planet’s territory and habitat for diverse fauna. Exponential growth in human population has resulted in demand for food and shelter, which the “natural” carrying capacity of land is under pressure to provide.

To compound the challenge, traditional farming practices continue to be favoured, limiting the farmer’s ability to efficiently cultivate their crops.

Challenges in Traditional agriculture practices

• Distribution of high-quality seeds is important. Unfortunately, one of the biggest issues in Indian agriculture is that farmers are unable to purchase superior seeds due to their high cost.
• Plants are vulnerable to pathogens, fungi, and insects. Farmers have traditionally monitored all of these conditions through visual observations and soil analysis. Visual inspections take a lot of time and depend on the observer’s aptitude for spotting potential issues.
• Overdose or wastage of chemicals, insecticides, pesticides via manual spraying results in harmful and hazardous conditions for humans and plants.
• Identification and removal of weeds in the farm become very difficult manually. It is a time-consuming process. Sometimes the actual crop may get affected while removing the weeds

Scalable innovation is necessary to transition from subsistence farming to a commercially oriented sector. Technology has and will continue to play a major role in agriculture and sustainable development going forward. Like many people, farmers also started carrying mobile devices, which allowed them to stay connected to colleagues while in the field. In addition to the unprecedented ability to order seed or fertilizer at any time or in any place, this also allowed smallholder farmers to access crucial agronomic advice and secure fair market pricing to help protect their livelihoods. Through access to real-time data, farmers can make better-informed decisions that allow them to use resources more sustainably.

Enter Drone technology for more effective and efficient outcomes.

DRONE FARMING FOR EFFICIENCY

UAV agriculture is 40 times faster than the conventional farming method, bringing a host of benefits to farmers and the agricultural sector as a whole. By avoiding crop loss, farmers see an increase in their yields and income due to the advanced analytics provided. Drones can continue to monitor farmland over time and supply data so that farmers can keep making informed and intelligent decisions.

Some of the best practices of Drone Technology are:

• Spraying and Planting – An effective spraying drone follows through on the information gathered by an imaging drone, using its aerial perspective to apply chemical agents to fields precisely and with a high degree of automation.  In addition to effective software and reliable flight systems, these drones carry optimized spraying and spreading systems for precise application of chemicals or even distribution of seeds.
• Field soil analysis – Drones conduct soil analysis in real time using multispectral cameras. The data they provide can be acted on immediately and offers information for the entire area scanned – not just representative samples.
• Crop health assessment and surveillance – Drone aerial imaging can identify problem areas in a field with various possible pathogens: pests, fungus, fertilizer misuse, weeds, lack of moisture, etc. Once identifying a site with deviations, the farmer can send a scout to make a report based on the data collected during the inspection and necessary actions can be taken.
• Irrigation monitoring – With the correct sensors, drones can identify which parts of a field are receiving too little or too much water. Additionally, once the crop is growing, drones allow for a precise measurement of the health, heat, and density of the crop, allowing for irrigation adjustments to be made as the plants grow. From the start, crops can be better laid out to maximize drainage, avoid pooling water, and mitigate unnecessary damage to sensitive crops.
• Aerial imaging – Using a drone allows farmers to get a precise aerial view, one that goes beyond the visible spectrum. Drone simultaneously captures standard RGB imagery and a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to give actionable information about given areas of a field.

Weed Management – To meet the needs for future food production, weeds must be controlled because they compete with crops for water, nutrients, light, space, and carbon dioxide, which can lower crop yields. The combination of drones, artificial intelligence, and various sensors such as hyperspectral, multi-spectral, and RGB (red-green-blue) ensures a better outcome in weed management.

Become a part of History. Become a part of AeroGCS

The exciting thing about new technology is the opportunity to be a part of history in the making.
Learning to operate this kind of technology now means being an integral component of the advancement of agriculture and other industries like it as we see new technological advancements across the landscape of drone technology. AerGCS is a platform where are these features can be operated in simplest ways. It is useful for agricultural applications for spraying pesticides and chemicals. It is effectively used for aerial seeding over a wide area of land to minimize human efforts. It is used for monitoring plant growth and analysis of crops. It is also applicable in the surveying and maintenance.

Final Thoughts!

As mentioned before, agricultural drone technology is undoubtedly the future of the agrarian community. It can transform traditional farming methods in unaccountable ways. Even though this technology is more complex to be familiar with, it will yield its results in no time once learned. Determination of goals, creating an equilibrium in the drone and software utilized, and being familiar with the principles of using such technology will stand as a challenge. The farmers will inevitably need comprehensive training or partnerships with third-party experts in the drone industry for the acquisition of reliable data. Government bodies are also providing assistance for drone farming. Agriculture Ministry of India to provide grant up to Rs. 10 lakhs to agricultural institutes for purchase of drones. Custom hiring centres set up by Cooperative Society of Farmers, FPOs and Rural entrepreneurs will also get financial assistance for purchase of drones.