Drones

As the population grows at an annual rate of about 1.05 percent, the global demand for food crops increases drastically. According to the latest report of the United Nations, the world population is expected to increase to 9.8 billion by 2050 and the crop production will also increase the demand growth between 60 to 100 percent in order to feed each one on the planet. This can be a tough challenge for the agritech industries. As farmers have been facing difficulty in supervising and managing acres of land, the emerging technologies such as AI, IoT and drones are aiding a bit for better farm management thereby increasing productivity. 

AI has been lending its hand in answering questions like which crops to focus on, what crops are less prone to weeds and how weather can be influenced. And also AI can help in incentivising the youth to go to the rural side experiencing the agricultural activities. But did you ever think how drone's can transform the agritech industry?  

In today’s scenario, it is also proven that not only AI and machine learning can help farmers increase their output but drones can also aid in that pretty well. Computer vision when combined with drones can render a huge support of indispensable data that can help farmers to find better time for harvesting and plan for irrigation processes. 

Drone's can also help detect an early infestation with the same technology and identify appropriate pesticides. These technologies can also scan the entire land for infestation and spray the pesticides in the areas where the crops are infested. This can enhance the crops growth by also minimising the additional cost incurred in a manual calibrating quality of pesticide. Drones can gain access to a pool of data that can help farmers to increase crop yields, reduce expenses and also save  time with unparalleled accuracy and precision. 

According to the latest survey, the future of drones in agritech by 2026, the market for agriculture drones is also expected to reach US $6,52 billion at 4% CARG. and currently the demand for drones in the agritech industry is increasing as the costs of drone's has been coming down gradually. 

Drones in Agriculture 

Drones have been taking over the agritech because of their capability to deliver the most up-to-date information fast and efficiently. Let’s see how drones can help agritech industries in India. 

Estimating soil condition: Smart farming is data-driven, and can enable framers to take a quick action relying upon the accurate information on soil conditions. With its sensors, drones can collect and deliver this data to use in farmers. 

Planting future crops: Using drone's for seed planting is new and so many agritech companies are experimenting with this approach. 

Fighting infections: Many agritech companies are also helping farmers with drone's in fighting infections and help expenses contributing to better field health. 

Agriculture spraying: Drones can help in spraying, helping in limiting human contact with fertilizers, chemicals, and pesticides. 

Crop surveillance: Drone can be used for agriculture mapping, farmers can stay updated on the health of plants in a particular area and indicate which field areas require attention. 

Agricultural drone technology has a great potential to transform the agritech industry to great heights.  This technology is a complex task that will require partnering with reliable third-party drones hardware and software solutions providers.