Exercise 1: Experience capitalization

Technically I have no experience in using drones.  I'm still in the process of knowing and having some knowledge. But to answer the questions

1. Describe for what purpose the drones were used and in which context?
   1. Drones in our institute are mainly used for security, and research. In research, picture captured through drone flights are tested to check presence of pest, and status of plants
   2. In our part, we are on the verge of using it for pesticide application.
2. What challenges were faced using the drones?
   1. Safety concern and law restrictions
3. What lessons can be drawn from this experience?
   1. As i have said I'm still inexperienced.
4. Additional resources (list links to additional information on the experience if available).

Hi everyone, hope all is well. I have been struggling with this first exercise; unfortunately, I haven't had any experience with Drones in Agriculture, and neither has anyone in my circles. Sadly, the majority of drone owners that I've met use them and hire them out for recreational photography/videography i.e. weddings, music videos etc. So I guess the applications we are learning about here are either applied by organizations such as FAO, and Commercial Farmers with access to decent resources. I have asked some people in a slack community for drones for some of their experiences, and I'm yet to hear back from them. I am not sure how much standard drones cost, but I'm guessing the people who can afford them buy them with the intention of making some money back quickly...

Greetings dear all,

I'm Marc Ghislain BAPPA from Cameroon. I'm not a drone practitioner but I have keen interest on Innovative ICT tools that can boost agricultural processes and practices.

   Drones are very practical and technological tools that eases farm management and highly contribute in modernizing the techniques and processes to follow the development of an agricultural commodity from the ground stage (field preparation) to the agriproduct stage (production of goods). A farmer, an organization of farmers or a practitioner organization can use a drone in various ways within the agricultural sector. Some can use it solely as a farm control device, a soil analysis device, a pest and disease management device, a post harvest device, just to cite a few. More and more peeps are entering into this crusade but grassroot farmers (especially in developing countries) can't yet afford to purchase this material. some still aren't aware of how a GPS can be used in agriculture.

  During my trip to Australia recently where I was invited to attend the 8th GFRAS (Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services) annual meeting, we came across an extension organization known as the Herbert Cane Productivity Services Ltd (HCPSL) (http://www.hcpsl.com/). While showcasing to us, international delegates (thanks to Mr. DI BELLA Lawrence), on their implication in helping farmers intensifying their agricultural practices in cane production and redering it more precised, they brought up this aspect of making it possible to farmers to follow and understand the sugar cane development, periodically during the growing season. thanks to remote sensing (data, usually imagery/photography, acquired from satellites or aircraft that provides a “bird’s eye” view of the landscape from above) and drones (digital cameras and hardware miniaturisation that allows Normalized Difference Vegetation Index analysis to be performed to assess crop health, particularly over trial and where visual observation of stress is apparent). It was very amazing to see how this extension organization assist farmers in their daily activity processes, train them and support them with adequate tools and techniques to promote professionalism, business oriented and entrepreneurial in their intensive farming approach.

  The main challenges that can hinder efficient and effective management of this tool is climate variability, legislation procedures prioir to defined countries and maintenance of the tool to ensure sustainable use. Thus, farmers are open to accept what shall can aid improve their living standards and community development but needs to be trained on the management of such tools.. In developed countries, quite easy but in developping ones, a "Hold my Hand" approach can't be negleted...

Thanks

I am Ogechi Umeh, an extension agent and a lecturer.  

In Nigeria steps have been taken by the National Airspace Management Agency to bring drones into the country’s airspace system, people have expressed interest in the use of drones in agriculture, for monitoring pipelines and storage tanks in its oil and gas industry, and in power-line inspections, for the farmers, technology of unmanned aircrafts can be used for collecting valuable information, which can be used to avoid damage caused by pest infestation. The factor that makes drones the best option for this purpose is the cost effectiveness of these unmanned devices. Owning a drone that reduces operating costs and improves crop yield by giving the timely information you need for quick management intervention. Nigeria farmers predominant in the rural areas need to be repositioned on this through comprehension advisory services on the use of drones to boost production. There is need to launch drone technology in agricultural extension services and research. Extension agents need to have adequate training and ICTs support to take drone technology to the grassroots level. This is the focus of my interest in e-agriculture learning

Hello,

I work at the Documentation and Information Centre of the Ministry of Agroindustry (Argentina) as a reference librarian. I do not have any direct experience on drones. However I am investigating their impact on the agricultural sector and also the contributions that librarians could provide, such as data management and preservation and information literacy focused on regulations. Outstanding institutions in my country like INTA (Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria) and FAUBA (Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad de Buenos Aires) are studying the potential of this technological innovation in the field. As a librarian I must be aware of the state-of-the-art applications and assist users in locating the information that they need.

Thank you,

Leticia