Precision agriculture

Technology is defined as a set of techniques that are applied in a logical way to allow modifying the environment of human beings in order to create useful solutions for everyday life, but human creativity sometimes goes beyond and adapts certain technologies to new areas for which they were not developed.

This is the case of drones, or unmanned aircraft, those small and large devices that are giving much to talk about in various industries, from photography by Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP) or Parrot (EPQ: PARRO) to military aid, developed by companies such as Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). But as we said, certain technologies can be implemented in a wide variety of industries.

Innovations revolutionize different sectors; agriculture dates back to ancient times, but technology is trying to make this practice as efficient as possible in this modern, reducing production costs and generating the least environmental impact. In order to work large extensions of land, machinery is indispensable since the manual work of a group of people cannot compete with John Deere’s (NYSE: DE) machinery, for example. This makes agriculture a field of innovation, and it brings to the table what is known as “precision agriculture” or “Agriculture 4.0”.

In this type of agriculture, the use of drones plays a very important role, as they are responsible for spreading different products over large areas of land. The engineers who carry out this procedure have the capacity to maximize production, automating the entire process with drones and artificial intelligence, which allow the different agrochemicals to be distributed in specific plots. The sensors in the drones are fundamental, as they make them capable of acting with total independence. Engineers program the drones to cover the entire area in the shortest possible time and also optimize the dispersion of agrochemicals such as fertilizers.

Currently, in 2022 the agriculture industry is suffering from bottlenecks in the supply chain, as the ongoing conflicts in the Eastern European region are blocking the export of certain agrochemicals, which are necessary for the production of various foodstuffs. These countries are the main producers of fertilizers and pesticides, and with difficulties in exporting, prices automatically rise. This has negative consequences for agriculture 4.0, and technology can solve them.

First is the need to optimize the use of these products to reduce production costs and gain competitiveness. In this case, the use of drones results in increased efficiency. Secondly, the search for new suppliers that are able to offer their chemicals, and well-known companies in the sector, such as BASF SE (BATS EU: BAS) or Bayer AG (BATS EU: BAYN), are beginning to be the focus of attention, as they have a wide range of options available for farmers to find what best suits the task they want to carry out.

DJI is the company that is currently producing the most widely used drones in the agriculture industry, but these aerial devices have more benefits since, with them, you can also have better control of crops through the use of their cameras or even the transport of certain loads.

Drones, which we initially thought were only used in entertainment, are taking flight towards other sectors, and with new accessories, we will find new applications with time. Agriculture is using technology not only to reduce costs but also to increase productivity without losing competitiveness.