Agri Kultuur February / Februarie 2016 | Page 26

Farms today are bursting with engineering marvels, the result of years of automation and other innovations designed to grow more food with less labor. Tractors autonomously plant seeds within a few centimeters of their target locations, and GPS-guided harvesters reap the crops with equal accuracy. Extensive wireless networks backhaul data on soil hydration and environmental factors to faraway servers for analysis. But what if we could add to these capabilities the ability to more comprehensively assess the water content of soil, become more rigorous in our ability to spot irrigation and pest problems, and get a general sense of the state of the farm, every day or even every hour? The implications cannot be stressed enough. Farming is an input-­ output problem. If we can reduce the inputs—water and pesticides—and maintain the same output, we will be overcoming the central challenge to feed the 9.6 billion people on Earth by 2050. Agricultural drones are becoming a tool like any other consumer device, and we’re starting to talk about what we can do with them. Ryan Kunde wants to irrigate less, use less pesticide, and ultimately produce better wine. More and better data can reduce water use and lower the chemical load in our environment and our food. Seen this way, what started as a military technology may end up better known as a green-tech tool, and our kids will grow up used to flying robots buzzing over farms like tiny crop dusters”. Whatever your specific needs may be, there is a drone out there waiting for you. However you will also have to take note of the legislation and requirements involved with these, as you cannot just go out and start flying. For more information, I suggest you visit the Safe Drone website http://www.safedrone.co.za/. New regulations for flying drones in South Africa are effective from 1 July 2015. This website has been created for all to understand the new legal requirements. The Safe Drone website is not for profit, and all articles are created by industry experts who want to assist all interested in the drone industry, including operators and clients. Sources: https://shadowproof.com/2013/10/11/dont-use-theword-drones-theyre-uavs/ http://farmingdrones.com/ http://www.theguardian.com/globaldevelopment/2015/dec/26/drones-farming-cropproblems-uavs https://www.technologyreview.com/s/526491/ agricultural-drones/ An MQ-9 Reaper, a hunter-killer surveillance UAVdrones were initially designed for spying, warfare and eventual destruction of enemy sites, troops etc. Picture by U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson - USAF Photographic Archives (image permalink), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3268457