By Adaobi Rhema Oguejiofor
The agricultural sector is one that keeps growing and changing just as the world keeps evolving. At the moment, the sector is undergoing a remarkable transformation, which involves blending traditional practices with high-tech solutions. Farmers now need to make use of newer technologies in order to solve new difficulties, since adaptation remains crucial as a result of the expanding human population and the changing global climate.
While farmers have now begun to use technology in order to promote and improve the quality of their work, drones are featuring prominently among some of the technologies that are paving the way forward and are rising as an important game-changing factor in the agricultural sector.
Currently, camera-fitted agricultural drones are being used to improve the treatment of farm produce. These drones allow farmers to get a unique outlook that the previously-used satellite imagery could not provide. They help to expose issues with irrigation treatment, soil variation, and distressed plants at a much lower cost than methods like crop imaging with a manned aircraft.
By definition, agricultural drones are unmanned aerial vehicles that are used in agricultural operations, mostly when it comes to yield optimization and monitoring crop growth and crop production. They provide information on crop growth stages, crop health, and soil variations. Drones also provide practical, efficient, and sustainable solutions that can transform the agricultural industry. From precise data collection to advanced crop management, the benefits of drones in agriculture are multi-faceted and far-reaching.
For instance, drones used in the field have the ability to collect data that can be used to determine if crops have enough water. They can also help to find leaks in the irrigation system, as multi-spectral sensors are used in the drones to bring about image electromagnetic radiation beyond the visible spectrum, including near-infrared and short-wave infrared.
The success of these drones in agriculture is made possible by technological advances in Global Positioning System (GPS) modules, digital radios, and small Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) sensors. Together, these advances allow farmers to be able to bring greater precision and accuracy to their craft in order to reap greater rewards.
The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, were originally created for military use, but they are now widely used in a variety of businesses and fields. Agriculture is now the second industry that has adopted the use of drones the most after the construction industry, with a market for agricultural drones worth $1.3 billion, which is equivalent to N1.2 trillion.
According to research estimates, agricultural drones appear to have a bright future as the industry is expected to attain about $5.7 billion, which is equivalent to N4.8 trillion, by 2026, growing at a Compounded Annual Rate of Growth (CARG) of 25 per cent. And as drone prices fall and agricultural-drone software become more complex, the demand is only expected to increase.
Agricultural drones are very beneficial and useful to the farming sector. One of their outstanding benefits is that they bring about an increase to the overall efficiency of farm work. Also, drones have become a crucial component of smart and accurate farming, as they assist farmers in overcoming a variety of obstacles and gaining a wealth of advantages. The drones provide increased efficiency, cost saving, provision of accurate data, versatility, risk reduction, data management, and improved crop health, as well as improved yields as part of their advantages.
Majority of these advantages result from removing all speculation and decreasing ambiguity. The success of farming typically depends on a wide range of variables, such as weather, soil conditions, temperature, and precipitation among others; and farmers have little or no control over these factors. The secret to efficiency is in their capacity to adapt, which is greatly influenced by the availability of precise information that is available almost instantly, and that is where using drone technology can change things. This is because farmers may be able to boost crop yields, save time, save costs, and act with unparalleled accuracy and precision by obtaining access to a massive pool of data.
Agricultural drones help in monitoring plant health, which is one of the applications for drone imaging that has already been successfully implemented. Using granular colour data, drones with specialized imaging hardware called the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) can examine and check the health of plants. This feature enables farmers to keep an eye on crops as they develop and address any issue as soon as it arises, so as to save the plants.
Crop health can also be observed by drones that are equipped with ‘regular’ cameras. To monitor crop growth, density, and coloration, many farmers currently utilize satellite images. However, accessing satellite data is quite costly and often less efficient when compared with closer drone surveillance. Furthermore, cloud cover and bad lighting conditions are less important with drones than with satellite photography because they fly closer to fields.
While satellite imaging may provide accuracy down to the meter, imaging by agricultural drones can produce millimeter-level accuracy in image location. This indicates that regions with stand gaps can be identified and replanted as required even after planting and, also, disease or pest issues can be quickly identified and dealt with.
While large farms can be very challenging to monitor, camera and sensor-equipped drones can provide detailed real-time images and data, which makes monitoring crops on a large scale much easier to accomplish. This also helps farmers to be able to easily identify issues, such as drought stress, nutrient deficiencies, pests, and diseases much earlier than traditional methods.
Agricultural drones can also be useful for irrigation purposes. In addition, drones equipped with thermal cameras are capable of identifying the part of a field that is getting too much or too little amounts of water. This information can help farmers to adjust their irrigation systems in order to improve water efficiency and crop health.
For planting, drone companies have developed drones that can even plant seeds, thereby reducing the labour and time required for this task. This approach is particularly useful in areas where the landscape or soil conditions make traditional planting methods quite challenging. Similarly, these drones can be used for spraying crops with fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Since drones can fly close to the ground, they can apply these substances more precisely than traditional methods, and this reduces the amount of chemicals that may be used.
In addition to monitoring crops, drones can be used to monitor livestock, track their movements, as well as identify any animal that might be injured or ill.
In the agricultural sector, the kind of drones that are used generally fall into two categories based on their design. The categories include the fixed-wing drones and multi-rotor drones. Each type of these drones offers various capabilities and benefits, which makes them unique and suitable for different kinds of tasks.
Fixed-wing drones look like small aeroplanes with a rigid wing structure. They have one or more propellers for forward motion but they do not hover like multi-rotor drones. These drones excel in covering large areas for aerial surveys as a result of their long flight times and high cruising speeds. They are usually used for gathering data for crop health assessments, mapping large portions of farmland, and monitoring livestock over wide-ranging pastures.
For multi-rotor drones, as the name implies, they have multiple rotors, usually four, hence the term ‘quadcopter.’ These types of drones are capable of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and can hover in place, which makes them perfect for precise tasks. They are usually used for crop spraying, precise data acquisition, or when maneuvering is necessary. For instance, a multi-rotor drone can easily navigate around obstacles and perform tasks in smaller, as well as more confined areas.
Another type of agricultural drone is the hybrid drone, which combines the advantages of fixed-wing and multi-rotor drones. It is capable of VTOL like a multi-rotor drone and long-range flight like a fixed-wing drone. Although it is still relatively unexplored in the agricultural sector, these drones offer a promising solution for applications that require both extensive coverage and precision.
Each type of drone has its own set of strengths and is best suited to different applications within the agricultural sector. The choice of drone will largely depend on the specific task, the size and the layout of the farm, and other factors, such as local regulations, as well as budget.
Despite the prospects and benefits of agricultural drones, using them still comes with certain challenges. One of the challenges is the issue of regulatory restrictions. In a number of countries, the use of drones is subject to regulations that can limit their effectiveness in the agricultural industry. These can include restrictions on flying drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), at night, or over certain altitudes, and obtaining the necessary permits can be a complex and time-consuming process.
Data overload is another significant challenge of drone usage. Collecting a vast amount of data using drones is easy, but it can be difficult for farmers, especially those who lack data analysis skills to manage, interpret, and utilize the data collected. Another challenge is cost. While prices of drones have decreased over the years, the investment can still be substantial, especially for small-scale farmers. This cost includes not just the upfront price of the drone, but also the cost of maintenance, software subscriptions, and possibly hiring trained operators or analysts.
Other challenges include battery life and range, as drones are limited by their battery life and operational range. It can limit the area that can be covered in a single flight, especially in the case of larger farms. Weather dependence can also pose problems for drones. They can be affected by adverse weather conditions, such as high winds, rain, or fog. These conditions can not only restrict when drones can be flown but can also affect the quality of the data collected.
However, despite these challenges, the potentials and benefits of drones in the agricultural sector are considerable, and as technology advances and regulations evolve, many of these obstacles are likely to be solved and overcome.
The usage of drones in agriculture is currently revolutionizing the farming industry. These highly technological devices, with their different capabilities, like aerial surveillance and precise spraying, are fostering an era of precision agriculture. Drones offer cost-effectiveness, resource efficiency, and superior data collection, which is helping to bring about transformation in the way farmers monitor crop health, manage resources, and make informed decisions.
At the moment, agricultural drones help to streamline farming operations and also contribute to sustainable practices, which ultimately enhances productivity and profitability. Therefore, ranging from small-scale farming to large agricultural estates, drones are rapidly becoming an integral part of modern farming and agricultural transformation, thereby creating a future where agriculture is smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable.