Drones used to improve agricultural activity

In recent years, Peru has been implementing new technologies in various sectors. As a consequence of this, the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MINAGRI) acquired drones last year in order to optimize the country's agricultural production.

With the use of drones, farmers will have real-time knowledge about the state of crops, as well as being able to delimit land. The importance of this technology lies in its ability to prevent and detect various events that may occur with crops, such as the early detection of pests and/or diseases, so that farmers can take action and not suffer losses.

For Juan Palacios Quintana, Junín's regional director of agriculture, the importance of drones lies in the advantages they offer, e.g. reduced costs and greater working accuracy. They also reduce environmental impact and optimize operations.

Functions of drones in agriculture include monitoring the state of the land, the information sent being used to find out if there is any lack of irrigation or the level of crop moisture; crop spraying routes can also be accurately programmed.

In Peru, there are several companies dedicated to working with this technology, one of these companies -considered one of the six best ventures of 2017- is Spacedat AG, which generates data and images through the use of drones and satellites. Founder César Urrutia explained that by flying a drone, you get "images of what is visible, i.e. of green plants and the space they occupy on the ground. We can also install sensors and infrared cameras to see the level of chlorophyll or identify any damage to vegetation. Or we can use thermal cameras to measure soil temperature".

Drones in San Martín

In September of last year, San Martin's Regional Department of Agriculture reported that they would start using drones in their region so that farmers can plan their crops and supervise disease control.

The use of drones is aimed at obtaining the necessary information through images to improve production. The aim is to save time and money and to manage resources such as fertilizers, water, machinery and labor properly.

For the director of Agricultural Development and Competitiveness, René Bartra, with the beginning of this phase it will be possible to talk about a more precise agriculture. "With the use of these new technologies, not only can we offer optimized resources, but we can also reduce their environmental impact", he said.

Did you know?

• A drone is an unmanned flying vehicle that is controlled remotely, using the force of its engines linked to the propellers to rise into the air. Drones can have built-in sensors and cameras, which allows them to be used in different tasks. Types of drones are defined by their propellers, and can be quadcopters, sexcopters or octocopters.
• Law No. 30740 was published in 2018, regulating the use and operations of remote piloted aircraft (drones). This law obliges operators (natural or legal persons) to apply for a license at the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Exempted from this procedure are the military, police, customs officers and those who use drones for recreational and sport aviation purposes, and when their weight does not exceed two kilograms (4.4 pounds).

Sources: Minagri/ Regional Department of Agriculture/ La República