The experience of implementing precision agriculture in Ukraine allows us to confidently set the pace for global trends in agricultural production. Ukrainian practices supported by innovative technologies allow to achieve high results and ensure efficiency on every hectare of fields. Already today, international companies and agricultural producers are focusing on Ukrainian expertise, as it has extremely high value and has no analogues in the world. Spreading and implementing precision agriculture approaches not only on Ukrainian, but also on international markets, DroneUA shared its experience of implementing innovative technologies in the agricultural sector at the North Atlantic Bioengineering Conference (NABEC), which took place on July 16, 2024 in the state of Pennsylvania, USA.
Taking part in the AgTech panel, dedicated to digital and precision agriculture, Valerii Iakovenko, CEO and managing partner of DroneUA, as well as the chairman of the agricultural committee of the Pennsylvania Drone Association, shared his own insights:
"It was a general conference on the use of innovative technologies in agriculture. We directly participated in the direction of robotics in the broad context of this topic. We assessed the impact of technology on current agribusiness performance, labor resources, and the challenges and risks farmers face in adapting these technologies. In general, it was one of the most interesting scientific conferences with a large representation of scientific and academic institutions of the United States of America from the Northeast region, in particular the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, which is much broader in terms of understanding the importance of this event."
The panel discussion was also attended by:
- Paul Heinemann, a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Penn State;
- Kevin Dowling, Executive Director at Robotics Factory;
- Yu Jiang, Assistant Professor at Cornell University;
- Shirin Ghatrehsamani, a research scientist at Penn State.
"It is definitely worth noting the thorough preparation of the speakers who spoke with me in the same panel. They were representatives of academic communities and institutions, that had the widest experience in developing technologies and evaluating their effectiveness. As a company, that directly engages end-users in the use of innovative technologies, I focus on the effectiveness of synergies between the academic community, business and end-users in the US territory. It is the academic community that is the most important stakeholder in confirming the effectiveness of technologies currently appearing in the world", - Valerii Iakovenko notes.
Investigating the subject of current challenges, the experts reached a common opinion and noted the main one - the fears of specialists regarding the displacement of human labor by robotics.
"People have fears that robotics and modern technologies may lead to a decrease in the share of current personnel and their replacement by robots. Sometimes it has some confirmation and actual risks, but more often it is an incentive for the growth of various specialists to improve their skills and further work with a more effective tool. Modern technologies do not have the goal of getting rid of human resources, on the contrary - to simplify and increase the efficiency of the work of employees."
Currently, the most common practice of applying innovations by small enterprises is the service model, in which companies do not lose capital investments for the purchase of equipment to update their fleet, but gain access to the latest technologies through the purchase of services.
"In the modern world, robotics as a service is a trend that is only increasing in volume. And now we see that the vast majority of potential customers and current users of innovative technologies are service companies", - Iakovenko emphasizes.
During the panel discussion, experts paid special attention to examples of the application of innovative technologies through agronomic consultations.
“This category of employees and service providers in the US is extremely active, and this is one of the first fronts of work. It is thanks to cooperation with agronomic consultants, who are widely spread throughout the United States, that it is possible to make the first integrations, deepening their presence with additional channels”, - says DroneUA CEO and Managing Partner, and also Chairman of the Pennsylvania Drone Association's Agricultural Committee.
The experience gained by DroneUA during its work in Ukraine is of great value and is validated by the academic community. The active invitation to expert discussions and the presentation of our own experience in the US market is a clear confirmation of this.
“We have already validated the fact that the knowledge we have gained in the course of practical creation of an ecosystem for innovation in Ukraine is highly appreciated”, - Valerii Iakovenko concluded.
The NABEC conference has become a powerful platform for knowledge exchange, research presentation and discussion of innovations in the field of bioengineering. This year's panel highlighted the important role of technology in increasing agricultural productivity and sustainability, and DroneUA was pleased to join the implementation of innovative solutions that are already helping to overcome the challenges faced by farmers.
DroneUA would like to thank the organisers of the event for creating opportunities for cross-cultural exchange of experience and highlighting important topics, as well as fellow panelists for lively and interesting discussions, that will drive the global agricultural industry towards innovation.
