Drone solutions continue to transform key sectors of the global economy, including the agricultural industry, opening up new opportunities for both small farmers and entire agricultural holdings. The use of agrodrones allows not only to automate agricultural operations, but also to assess business profitability as accurately as possible, to forecast and increase its profitability.
On 12-14 November, a large-scale ElevateUAV 2024 summit organised by Drone Nerds took place in Miami, Florida (USA). The event brought together the world's leading drone technology players to discuss the latest innovations, market opportunities, and development strategies. As a market player and a leader in the introduction of drones in critical areas, Futurology(DroneUA) was an active participant in the event, sharing its experience and benefits of integrating drone technology into agriculture.
In particular, Valerii Iakovenko, Managing Partner of FarmFleet and Futurology, held a session on the topic: Revolution in the agricultural industry: calculating the benefits of scaling drone operations in US agriculture.
The key points of the presentation were as follows:
- The economic impact of drone use on agricultural production: reducing field processing costs and increasing yields.
- Return on investment in unmanned technologies: in particular, comparing the efficiency of using own equipment, leasing or services.
- The environmental component of using agrodrones: we studied the advantages of using drones compared to traditional equipment, optimising resource consumption, reducing negative environmental impact, including carbon footprint.
- Ukraine's experience: more than 3 million hectares of cultivated Ukrainian fields have become a unique case study that inspires and demonstrates the obvious benefits of using drone technology for players on the global stage.
The key focus was on exploring the role of drones in agriculture and assessing the prospects for the world's largest market, the United States. Participants discussed regulatory issues, the introduction of new technologies, and the environmental benefits of drones, as well as comparing the shares of the drone market in Europe and the US, and differences in approaches to its regulation and scaling.
“Currently, the US has the most opportunities and prospects for development, so we are happy to exchange experience, share best practices and establish mutually beneficial partnerships that contribute to the development of both countries and strengthen the global drone ecosystem”, - said Valerii Iakovenko.
The summit highlighted the potential of the US market, in particular, despite the relatively small number of drone operators in the US agriculture, this is the most promising area for growth. The large scale of the market, favourable regulatory conditions and high interest of agricultural producers create unique opportunities for innovation.
ElevateUAV 2024 has become an important milestone in building international cooperation between Ukraine and the United States and demonstrating Ukraine's experience in implementing unmanned technologies. The future of the agricultural sector lies in innovation.
Futurology expresses its gratitude to the organisers of the Drone Nerds Summit, as well as to the experts and guests present for important discussions, exchange of views and experience on expanding the boundaries of unmanned technologies in agriculture and other strategically important industries.
