How Drones are Making Farming More Inclusive by Reducing Labor Intensity — The Story of Ainem

The use of Agriculture Drones helps to make agriculture more inclusive by reducing labor intensity. And here is one of the user story.   Aniem is a professional agricultural drone pilot residing in a rice-growing area near Penang, Malaysia. She sprays and sows the fields of her family farm while also providing plant protection services to neighboring villagers. Aniem is the mother of two children and is expecting her third child soon. Image of Aniem, her children and the Agras T20   Purchased a T16 in 2020 and a T20 a year later, Aniem operates in a rice area where the main season runs from February to August. Each workday is divided into two periods, morning and afternoon, from 8:00 am to 12:00 noon and from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Aniem was introduced to agricultural drones through her family and friends in the same village and found it interesting.   “When I saw the agricultural drone for the first time, I became interested, because it is very helpful for the management of our family farm,” said Aniem. When first introduced to agricultural drones, Aniem was initially hesitant and nervous. However, after seeking advice from experienced villagers, she quickly learned that operating the machinery was not as difficult as she thought. With guidance from her friends, Aniem mastered the essentials of operation and was able to adjust the flight speed and spraying mode to work at the right farming time and place.   Recalling how she felt when she first learned agricultural drone, Aniem said: “No matter you what your gender is, you can master the operation techniques with passion and a willingness to learn.” Aniem has opened a Tiktok account to showcase her daily work in plant protection services. With the integration of agricultural drones, this has become a significant source of income for her. According to Aniem, the use of agriculture drones not only saves money in the long run but also reduces the burden on her husband.   On the local New Year’s Day, Aniem’s family portrait featured their agricultural drone. Aniem shared that the drone has significantly increased rice production while saving on manpower, time, and pesticide costs. What used to take 2 hours to manually spray a hectare of rice fields for insect removal, now only takes 20 minutes with the use of agricultural drones.   “Farmers like us really should switch to a more modern farming model.” Aniem is very optimistic about the prospects of agriculture drones.

DJI Agriculture Drone Pilot – A career with great potential in Ukraine.

The profession of drone pilot can be thought of as a unique career for the future and a profession in demand today. As the uses of unmanned aircraft are growing at a tremendous rate, these specialists are in greatest demand in agriculture. How much can a drone pilot in the field realistically earn, what equipment is needed, and what knowledge is required in this profession? Pavlo Laskovets will tell all. Why and how did you start working as a drone pilot? I worked in sales and consulting for many years, and I was never involved in operating drones. I just read about the capabilities of unmanned aircraft. By chance, I saw an advertisement looking for drone pilots on the internet. I called, went for an interview, and started working. The entire IT field is undergoing rapid growth right now, and technologies in agriculture are a part of this. I’m convinced that the new technologies that are now being put into practice in agriculture will bring about a radical change in the industry’s outlook and make fieldwork as efficient and effective as possible. Just this year, drones are being used to work on 4 times more fields than a year ago. Globally, UAVs are experiencing a real boom. Very recently, Elon Musk was saying that the first drones will soon be working on Mars. Do you remember your first flight? What drone did you use? Yes, I remember it clearly. It was very interesting and at the same time a bit unsettling. Beforehand, I spent a long time asking senior co-workers about the details and tried to prepare as much as possible for all contingencies that could theoretically occur. My first drone was the DJI Agras T16.I started with the desiccation of sunflowers and corn. In general, no tool is better than a drone for replacing traditional methods of desiccation. Usually, if the crop is tall, then a sprayer will work, but the resulting crop destruction is fairly significant; 3–7% of the harvest is lost. This is a huge amount of money per thousand hectares, and it’s one of the advantages that using drones can give you. Does using a drone really save money for agricultural producers? Let’s do the math. Over the long term, the use of drones can reduce the chemicals required per hectare by 50%.To treat crops with a desiccant spray, you need three liters of chemicals and 150–200 liters of water. For 100 ha, that’s 15–20 tons of water. Spraying by drone requires only 1.5 liters of chemical and 5–6 liters of water. That’s 600 liters per 100 hectares. If the field is 10,000 ha, then the savings will be 2000 cubic meters of water, which is a whole Olympic swimming pool or the monthly water consumption of eight 9-story buildings in downtown Kyiv. The savings are also obvious—you can achieve the same result or better, all while saving resources. Do you think that a drone pilot needs an education in agriculture? What knowledge do they need? In my opinion, I can say that it’s realistically possible to work as a drone pilot without special education. For some, a couple of days of training is enough; for others, a month is not enough. It’s not a question of ability, but of whether the person is able to learn from a mentor-practitioner relationship. You have to have a precise algorithm in your head to follow in a particular situation. You can read hundreds of manuals, but the practical aspect is the main thing. A drone pilot must simultaneously be an agronomist and know how to dig the right trench in a field, and a mathematician to do the required calculations. What is the average productivity of drone operation? Productivity depends on three factors—the qualifications of the drone pilot, the weather, and field conditions. On average, you can treat 50 to 120 ha with one drone in one shift. A shift might last from 8 to 14 hours a day. In one hour of continuous operation, you can do about 10 ha on average. Usually, the difference in productivity is significant, but this very much depends on whether the field is flat or not, whether it’s a single unit, and whether you have to move to other parcels. It’s hard work if the field has a lot of posts, shrubs, trees, bogs, a complicated topography or shape, and so on. If there are a lot of small fields, then sometimes much more time is spent traveling and deploying the equipment than actually doing the work. What set of equipment does an pilot need for uninterrupted operation? A starter kit for one pilot is a drone, generator, six batteries, and a charger. As a rule, for comfortable and uninterrupted work, two pilots should travel to the field by bus with 12 batteries, three chargers, and three generators. You need a diesel generator with a power reserve. In our case, we use a 5.5 kW generator. I also recommend having a good rope and a sapper shovel in the vehicle to make sure that you don’t get stuck in one of the fields. Is it realistic to start this business yourself from scratch? How much do you need to invest in equipment, in the drone itself? Yes, one person can do this, provided that you have the appropriate vehicle for the job. Equipment plus batteries and a generator will cost around 700,000 hryvnias. However, you must consider that a generator weighs approximately 100 kg, and you have to carry it with you all the time. From a purely physical standpoint, it’s simpler for two pilots to work together, or at least a pilot and an assistant. The client covers the costs of both the work and the transport services. On average, prices are from UAH 350 or more per hectare. Consequently, you can cover the cost of the drone in 20 working days and then start making money. For example, last season I did approximately 100 shifts spraying insecticides and doing desiccation. The earnings…

From Nurse to Agras Drone Pilot in Just One Month, Tais’s Successful Career Transition

At the break of dawn in the City of Taquarintinga in Brazil, Taís Ribero and her team start their work in a sugarcane field. The operation lasts for a rigorous 8 hours, concluding around 1 pm, marking the end of a typical day on the job. Taís is an agricultural drone pilot in Taquarintinga, Brazil. Before starting the drone business, she has been a nurse for 10 years. In order to move to the rural area in Taquarintinga with her family, she had to give up her original occupation as a nurse because of the remote location. With her open-mindedness to the new technology and a determination to master the operation techniques quickly, it took her only one month to become a professional drone pilot. Currently Taís operates a DJI Agras T40 and she’s the owner of an agricultural service company called Via Drone, which provides service in St. Paulo and Minas Gerais States of Brazil since November, 2022, when she joined the Agras drone industry. “We want Taís to work again,” said Felipe Sala, a farmer and agronomist engineer with expertise in drone surveying. With Felipe’s guidance, Taís quickly became proficient in operating drones and even started her own service company. As of February 2023, Taís has flown 1115 successful missions, totaling 133 hours of flight time and treating 2242 hectares of land. Agriculture drones have revolutionized farming in rural areas of Brazil by overcoming the limitations of traditional manual and machinery-based methods. Unlike tractors, drones can easily navigate through the fields, adjusting their height to fly close to the ground or high above fields. This has significantly improved the accuracy and efficiency of spraying applications, making it a game changer for farmers. “I believe the drones represent the future trend of agriculture,” according to Taís, who believes that drones can improve yield, save water, and work more efficiently than traditional machinery. Taís trust the power of this technology and sees a bright future for it in the market. Taís’s customers are often surprised to know that a woman is operating such a large drone. However, women are an emerging and strong group in the agriculture industry, and there is a growing demand for their services. Women tend to be more detail-oriented and careful when operating drones, making them a valuable group in the agricultural field. Taís encourages other females to pursue this career, as she finds it both cool and fulfilling. She takes pride in the compliments she receives from clients for the excellent service provided by her team. “Everyone who has a strong will can certainly do it,” said Taís. Taís’s inspiring career transition showcases the endless possibilities in the agriculture industry. With determination and a willingness to learn, Taís has proven that anyone can make a successful switch to this exciting field. Her story is a testament to the growing demand for skilled professionals in the agriculture industry, and the potential for career growth and fulfillment.

Empowering Working Moms: Agricultural Drones Offer Flexibility for Balancing Career and Family

Agricultural drones might provide new ideas for working mothers to balance family and career, the flexible working hours and diverse working locations of Agras drone business provide opportunities for working mothers to achieve a better work-life balance. Dr. María Maestro is the head of the drone division of ACRE Surveying Solutions and mother of two girls. Growing up with her grandfather who worked as a forest manager, María developed a love for nature, leading her to pursue a career in environment management. When conducting environmental research during her academic career, she found that multispectral images contain rich information and started to dive into the surveying drone industry. In 2016, María was introduced to agricultural drones through a multispectral drone project, ultimately leading her to join ACRE as technical support and sales for the drone department. Obtained the agricultural drone pilot certificate within half a year, she began to carry out sales and flight demonstration work. Involving Kids in the World of Agras Drones: A Quality Bonding Experience As an extraordinary scientific researcher who traveled to different continents around the globe and conducted a number of projects about climate change and environment protection, María has demonstrated a mastery of exceptional skills in her research field. During her six-year Ph.D. journey in Scotland, she also embraced the beautiful new identity of motherhood with love and devotion. Like mothers from all over the world, María faces the challenge of balancing career and family. It was a very difficult time when the baby was newly born, as she had to simultaneously work on her PhD studies, work projects, and caring for the newborn baby. “The house was always messy. The most important thing I’ve learned in this hectic phase of life is to set priorities and I really appreciate the help from my husband and other family members during the specific time.” With her two daughters growing up, María and her family have adapted to a new routine where everyone works together in shifts. Maria spends two days a week taking care of the children while seamlessly integrating them into her work. She loves bringing her children to the office and involving them in her work every week. “Engaging children in my work with agricultural drones allows me to provide them with quality companionship.” María added. Bring kids into the nature allows María to share the happiness she gained from nature in childhood to her daughters in a totally new way. María and her family enjoy spending their weekend taking drone photos in the fields. While it may not be a common practice to bring children along for agricultural drone demos, María envisions it as a joyous scene. Of course, she is also mindful of prioritizing safety education for her children throughout the process. Image of María and her family with a DJI Agras T10 in a chickpea field. Mom Pilots: Inspiring the Next Generation One morning, María woke up her oldest daughter, Claudia, who told her, ‘Mama, you work with drones now. You are changing the world by spraying the fields. When I grow up and have my own job, drones will be part of my day-to-day life.’” María’s example has left a deep impression on the 5-year-old, who reflects on the impact of agricultural drones. María herself also believes that this will be a trend in the future. “When I was 18, I would take the driver’s license test. When my daughters are 18 years old, I believe they will not only take the driver’s license test, but also obtain an agricultural drone pilot certificate.” When talking about career expectations to her children, María has no particular expectations when it comes to her children’s future career choices. She avoids putting pressure on them or offering unsolicited advice. Instead, she allows her children to explore their interests by involving them in her work. Through this, the children gain a deeper understanding of the agricultural drone industry, while also enjoying quality time with María. Nowadays, there are more and more working moms in the agricultural drone Industry, because there’s a growing number of remarkable female professionals who are also working moms are recognizing the infinite possibilities in the agriculture drone industry. Meanwhile, the mothers are passing down the passion and commitment to agriculture to the next generation.