The DroneUA group of companies, as a partner of the USAID Program, took part in the official program of the visit of Samantha Power, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). As part of the official's meeting with Ukrainian agricultural producers, the DroneUA team presented the results of the joint Project "Provision of services by Ukrainian agricultural producers using robotic and unmanned technologies", which provided specialized assistance to 92 farmers in the difficult conditions of the 2022 agricultural season.
The event took place on October 6, at the International Center for Precision Agriculture AgriLab. For DroneUA, the official meeting with the Head of USAID became an important moment in the history of international cooperation and contribution to ensuring global food security. Since June, throughout the entire agricultural season, within the framework of the joint Project, the DroneUA group of companies has been helping agricultural producers from different parts of Ukraine protect their crops and plantations in a timely manner, thanks to the use of spraying drones. This provided a significant economic effect for farmers both through savings and through the production of additional crops.
In general, with the support of USAID, 92 micro, small and medium-sized agricultural producers in 15 regions of Ukraine received free services for the application of pesticides by drones. During the season, more than 100 applications of pesticides were carried out by agro-drones not only on the main agricultural crops, but also on the plantations of horticultural and berry enterprises. According to preliminary estimates, the economic effect of the use of agricultural drones by one of the project participants with a land bank of 50 hectares is about 3.5 thousand dollars. If these indicators are scaled for 1 million hectares treated with drone sprayers, the additional economic effect at the national level will reach 65.5 million dollars.
«Meeting with Ukrainian farmers, I saw a key focus of USAID's work, which was to provide access to innovation that helps them continue to feed the world. These drones allow farmers to remotely protect and fertilize crops and avoid potential land mines. At the same time, to increase the harvest while reducing fuel and water consumption» – Samantha Power, Head of USAID, noted in her tweet.
The official assured that the US will continue to actively support Ukrainian agricultural producers, financing specialized projects and providing the opportunity for agricultural producers to get access to innovative technologies. Samantha Power also emphasized the importance of strong partnerships, ensuring an export corridor for grain, as well as creating all conditions for the safe storage of this season's harvest.
We remind you that the Project was made possible thanks to the support of the American people, provided through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the framework of the USAID Program for Agrarian and Rural Development (AGRO), which is implemented by Chemonics International.
