Worldwide, agribusiness has implemented drones to improve the productivity, safety and cost-effectiveness of operating a farm. As a result of aerial precision, growers can boost their harvests to meet the rising food demand.
Naturally, drones are of great interest to African farmers, especially those most impacted by climate change, lagging infrastructure and financial constraints.
As home to some of the poorest nations in the world, Africa has a growing population of hungry individuals to feed. Therefore, producing greater crop yields through sustainable means is increasingly essential. Here is why African growers should consider implementing drones for crop spraying.
How Do Drones Benefit Crop Spraying?
Drones benefit farming in several ways, such as spraying crops with greater precision, reducing chemical injuries to farmers and decreasing costs and labor demand.
Spray drones apply fertilizers and other synthetic chemicals to increase yields and prevent crop diseases and pests — a severe hardship throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Heat waves and droughts led to a fall armyworm invasion in 2016, having since caused 8-12 million tons of maize to die annually across the continent.
A spray drone can apply 1.5 to 2 gallons per acre in a matter of minutes. Of course, the flow rate depends on the size of the spray tank, speed, nozzles and spray width. For instance, drones with a five-gallon capacity may empty in two or three minutes.
According to one study, spray drones can reduce insecticide use by 30% to 40% and water by 90%. It also works 40 times faster than manual backpack sprayers, saving wheat and soybean growers $1.3 billion annually.
Unlike traditional spraying methods — such as trolley pumps for spraying large areas — spray drones are especially conducive for smaller-scale farms. Amid growing concerns about agricultural chemicals in food, drones can better contain crop spraying to a specific location.
Other Uses for Drones in Agribusiness
Investments and developments in agricultural technologies are rising exponentially. The deployment of green innovations has grown by 170% since the 1940s, decreasing labor expenses by 24%.
Agricultural drones are a relatively affordable farming technology used for wide-ranging purposes, including:
- Aerial monitoring of crops and livestock
- Surveying topography
- Land imaging to understand land changes
- Irrigation monitoring
- Soil monitoring
Agricultural drones have sensors, cameras, sprayers and other attachments to perform various tasks. Some even come with small buckets to collect soil and water samples for testing. Farmers can then save data to a tablet or laptop to understand areas of improvement.
Economists predict the global market for agricultural drones will grow by 20.3% from 2023 to 2030 — an increase from $4.98 billion to $18.22 billion. Farm drone investment in Africa and the Middle East dramatically contributes to the rising trend.
Challenges of Implementing Drones
African farmers typically have challenges implementing new technologies to ramp up crop production — primarily because of poor infrastructure or lack of funding. However, drones pose unique challenges like privacy concerns, lagging data protection and broader societal impacts.
As such, the rules for using drones are restrictive or lacking entirely, depending on different African countries. This can make obtaining a license for an agricultural drone an exhausting process.
Currently, 15 countries have drone restrictions, including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Nigeria and Senegal. If drones are allowed for agriculture, there must be achievable regulatory solutions for implementation. One problem with this is the need for more regulatory enforcement.
Few officials maintain adequate knowledge of drones to create, implement and enforce agricultural drone regulations throughout African countries. However, experienced stakeholder involvement could help nations develop policies for adopting promising provisions of farm drones.
Spray Drones Will Revolutionize African Farming
Regulatory improvements are necessary for spray drones to take off in Africa’s agricultural sector. By then, they will enable African farmers to improve crop yields for a more sustainable food supply.
