Preparations for the new season are already in full swing, and the difficult experience of 2022 gives every reason to predict the further development of global AgTech trends. On the eve of the start of the spring field work of the 2023 season, the DroneUA team conducted an internal analysis of the key vectors of strengthening the sustainability and recovery of Ukraine's agribusiness.
Despite all the difficulties, 1.2 million hectares were treated with sprayer drones last year, which is 20% more than in 2021. The difficult conditions of conducting agribusiness, of course, did not ensure the predicted growth, but despite this, the market for agricultural drone services was in high demand among agricultural producers. This is connected both with total economy and with logical needs to carry out scheduled field operations on time.
Therefore, in 2023, it is predicted that the demand for the services of agricultural drones will remain and even strengthen their position, due to the total increase in the price of all resources. The experience and results of the previous agricultural seasons have proven the technology of application of pesticides by drones as effective and quite promising. And this is confirmed by very simple math in the field:
Saving money. In 2021-2022, agricultural drones helped to save about 12.1 million liters of fuel, because they need 20 times less fuel during flight compared to ground-based equipment. About 5 liters of working solution is required for applying pesticides on 1 hectare of field, which provides up to 95% water savings. Thus, during the last two years, we managed to save up to 440,000 tons of water.
Increasing spraying efficiency.
Agrodrone requires up to 30% less drug than a traditional sprayer to obtain the same biological effect. In addition, ultra-small-volume application with an accuracy of up to 2 cm increases the digestibility of the drug several times.
Spraying drones can be operated at any time, even immediately after rain.
Damage to plants during processing is zero, which is especially important for tall crops.
Ecological approach. In 2021-2022, with the use of agricultural drones, the carbon footprint decreased by 30.8 thousand tons. Thus, agricultural drones meet the goals of sustainable development and become one of the most effective tools.
Economic recovery of regions. Thanks to the operation of spraying drones, 1,100 new jobs were created in the regions for young professionals in 2021.
Today, Ukraine is the center of maximum practical use of AgTech innovations and robotics in agriculture. The market ecosystem formed around unmanned technologies and spraying drones has been a model in the world for several years in a row. And it manages to keep its leadership positions even in such a difficult time - the market of spraying drones of Ukraine became No. 1 in Europe in 2022.
"Last year was very difficult, but we have a complete understanding that it is new technologies that will help Ukrainian agricultural producers now. Currently, it is important not to stop and continue to innovate in agribusiness. It is necessary to continue moving forward, cooperate with technological companies, initiate and unite international organizations in the Ukrainian market, involve the state and specialized industry organizations. The recovery of Ukraine and the strengthening of agribusiness can only happen with the intensive implementation of high-tech solutions", - notes the co-founder and managing partner of DroneUA Valery Yakovenko.
DroneUA is an international system integrator of unmanned solutions.
On the market of Ukraine and Eastern Europe, the DroneUA group of companies is the largest importer and distributor of leading drone manufacturers in the world and represents technological solutions from the brands XAG, EcoFlow, Pix4D, Parrot, Chasing, DroneDeploy, AgroCares and others.
The group of companies has its own engineering, production and service divisions, as well as an open data processing center. Technological solutions presented by DroneUA are used on more than 4 million hectares of cultivated areas of Ukraine. According to the results of the 2021 agricultural season alone, more than 1 million hectares were treated with drone sprayers from DroneUA.
DroneUA is among the top three most innovative businesses in the agricultural sector of Ukraine according to FORBES and among the twenty most innovative enterprises of Ukraine.
The group of companies continues to expand the list of technological brands that it presents on the Ukrainian market, and is active in agriculture, the oil and gas industry, as well as in the fields of energy, geodesy and topography.
Robotics, spraying drones and resource saving: in the agricultural season of 2023, the innovation trend will grow
