Ukrainian manufacturers of drones for agriculture should receive funding through programs to support Ukrainian mechanical engineering for the agricultural sector.
The corresponding bill was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday, April 18, “On Amendments to the Law “On Stimulating the Development of Domestic Mechanical Engineering for the Agro-Industrial Complex” (No. 8275).
As part of the document, drones are included in the new version of the law in the list of agricultural equipment that is subject to subsidies.
Why
To increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian agricultural production, the widespread use of new technologies based on scientific achievements in the field of information systems, automation of production processes and remote control methods is required. The problem for the introduction of innovative technologies is the reluctance of agricultural producers to switch to the use of innovative technology due to its high cost.
Why drones
One of the most rapidly developing areas in agricultural production is the use of unmanned aerial vehicles. Relatively cheap and low-cost to operate, unmanned aerial vehicles are used to quickly assess the condition of fields and broadcast the received information to the user. In addition, they can be used not only for studying fields and identifying deviations in plant development, but also as equipment for local application of plant protection products and obtaining operational information about the status of technological operations and their quality. Today, the development of technologies for diagnosing and assessing the condition of plants using unmanned aerial vehicles is hampered by the lack of government support for the implementation of this technology.
What stage of the project
According to the initiator of the bill, President of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAK) Leonid Kozachenko, the bill does not require extensive discussion, it should be submitted to parliament out of turn, and considered at a meeting of the agrarian committee of the Verkhovna Rada in May.
What volumes? financing
The bill provides for compensation of up to 25% of the cost of equipment from the budget. The total amount of funding for the program to support Ukrainian mechanical engineering for the agro-industrial complex is 945 million hryvnia, out of more than 2 billion hryvnia from the state budget to support the agro-industrial complex
Which agrodrones will be compensated
It is expected that the list of Ukrainian unmanned equipment, the cost of which will be partially compensated to agricultural producers from the budget, will include equipment with a high degree of localization of production. The requirement for the percentage of production localization, as well as other factors and requirements for Ukrainian drone manufacturers will be announced after consideration of the bill in the Verkhovna Rada.
Who receives funding
Recipients of budget funds can be individuals and legal entities — entrepreneurs whose main activity is the supply of agricultural goods.
Who are the initiators of the process
Main stakeholders of the process — People's Deputy Kozachenko L.P., the Council of Entrepreneurs at the CMU, the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation, the Expert and Media Hub "Industry 4.0", as well as the State Scientific Institution of the UkrNDIPVT named after. L. Pogorely. The bill was developed after a corresponding request from Meridian OJSC
The initiator of the bill is the President of the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation (UAK) Leonid Kozachenko.
The bill was signed by the following deputies: Leonid Kozachenko, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Alexey Skripnik, Petr Yurchyshyn, Nikolay Kucher, Alexey Mushak, Yuri Chizhmar.
How to get on the list of manufacturers of unmanned vehicles that will be compensated
By analogy with earlier processes, it is expected that after consideration of the relevant bill, a selection will be launched; during the selection, manufacturing plants will be able to send applications to include their products in such a list of equipment. As a result of reviewing applications and checking documents for compliance with the criteria, the commission will form an updated list of Ukrainian agricultural machinery and equipment, the cost of which will be partially compensated to agricultural producers from the budget. The expected composition of the commission is unknown.
Drone.UA — leading integrator of unmanned technologies on the Ukrainian market. The company operates in the fields of energy and oil and gas industries, as well as in the fields of geodesy and topography. The main areas of work of Drone.UA are the development and implementation of industry solutions based on drone technology, the provision of services using UAVs, as well as the processing of data obtained using drones. Drone.UA technologies are used on more than 3.1 million hectares of cultivated areas in Ukraine.
Drone.UA – a national manufacturer of unmanned equipment, as well as a distributor of commercial and industrial solutions from Parrot, a distributor of Drone Deploy and Pix4D software in Eastern Europe, as well as the largest dealer of DJI equipment and industrial solutions in Ukraine.
