The agricultural sector has been given the enormous task of ending world hunger in the next five years. Rising costs, global market (and political) instability and inflation have placed so much pressure on the sector that this goal is nearly impossible using traditional farming methods. Ruan Botha, DJI product manager and Frazer McDonald, owner of Limerick Farm in Viljoenskroon, Free State look at how precision farming, and drones in particular, can potentially help end world hunger, especially in Africa.
The United Nations estimates that over two billion people around the world lack regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food. Over 148 million children had stunted growth and 45 million under five years old were affected by wasting.
Rising farming costs and a currently high inflationary environment means that 600 million will still be facing hunger by 2030, despite the UN’s second Sustainable Development goal to create a world free of hunger by then.
Economic reality
According to the Agricultural Business Chamber (Agribiz), input costs are rising at an alarming rate, affecting profitability for farmers.
In 2021, for instance, fertilisers and other agrochemicals costs jumped 40% compared to 2020.
Rising fuel costs everywhere, not just in South Africa, placed a further squeeze on energy-intensive businesses like farming, with fuel estimated to account for between 11% and 13% of grain and oilseed production costs.
Agribiz notes that while fuel consumption remains moderate through the year, it spikes during planting and harvesting season.
“With some crops already in their harvest seasons, and other later this year, farmers will increasingly start realising the need to start adopting data-centric farming models and tools” says McDonald. “Our farm’s harvest should be done by the end of August and it will be interesting to see how we do, as this is the first year we have fully adopted precision farming practices, including spraying and seeding exclusively with the use of drones.
Precision agriculture
It is estimated that African countries will need to double their farming output in order to address hunger on the continent to meet the UN’s 2030 target.
“Unfortunately, traditional farming methods won’t be enough to achieve this, especially with escalating costs and the seasonal impact of erratic weather patterns (especially drought),” says Botha. “Luckily, farmers have started to embrace precision farming practices. This involves gathering and analysing massive amounts of data about plants, animals, weather and land.
“This data is then combined with other information for improved resource use efficiency, productivity (higher crop yields), quality, profitability and sustainability of farm operations. In some cases, farmers are gravitating to precision farming to manage long-term input costs better. Some for a competitive advantage, while others out of environmental awareness,” he says
Driven by artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics, precision farming unlocks benefits in all these areas and more.
Unlocking savings with drones
While unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones) are by no means the entirety of the complex precision farming process, smart drones hold the key to reducing fuel, grain, herbicide and pesticide costs, while increasing efficiency.
The DJI AGRAS T50, for instance, offers a 40kg spraying (water irrigation or chemical) and 50kg spreading (seed) payload capacity, due to the higher density of seed and volatility of liquid.
This state-of-the-art drone leverages a dual atomizing spraying system, front and rear phased array radars, and a binocular vision system.
“Our drones can operate across multiple scenarios, from surveying to spraying and spreading, guaranteeing stable operations, steady performance and accurate depth perception,” McDonald says. “Modern drones have evolved to a high degree of flight manoeuvrability, image quality, sensory depth and payload capacity. Multi-directional obstacle sensing offers safer operations and a high flow rate means better crop coverage.”
Furthermore, the downward force of the rotator blades means better chemical penetration and minimal dispersion from the target zone.
This leads to much less total water and chemical (herbicides and pesticides) use, which is better for the environment as well as farmers’ pockets. Fuel-efficient fast charging and easy assembly means more uptime while also drastically reducing fuel cost.
“The demand for drones in sectors like farming, military operations, wildlife conservation, law enforcement, rescue operations, mining and even the consumer electronics market is accelerating quickly, Botha adds. “This is leading manufacturers to invest heavily in research and development to increased payloads, improve sensors and even offer pre-programmable flight paths.”
Through its drone programme, Rectron has made significant investments in the burgeoning drone industry by offering a drone pilot and maintenance technician course, and support in developing skills and technical capacity. This doesn’t only benefit the agricultural sector but also provides an economic boost that will secure future resilient employment for years to come.
