Syngenta Pakistan piloted drone spraying services on approximately 5,000 acres of a local farmland to demonstrate agri-innovation and use of modern technology.
Syngenta Pakistan Limited, an agriculture innovation and technology firm, has piloted drone spraying services on approximately 5,000 acres of a local farmland.
The company offers crop protection, biologicals, seeds, crop-enhancement products, and digital services to farmers. It is for a first that a crop protection company in the country has provided such drone spray services.
Drone spraying services are used globally for application of crop protection products as the technology offers precision, uniformity in spray, effective pest and disease control, and speed in farm operations.
Extending the service to farmers, the company aims to help transform agricultural practices in the country, and to catalyse progress on making the agriculture sector more robust and technology-enabled.
Speaking on the occasion, Zeeshan Haseeb Baig, general manager at Syngenta Pakistan, said, “Labor availability and correct technique for spraying are contributors to our low yield in Pakistan.” He explained that drone spray technology helps enable farmers to achieve effective pest control and farm level efficiency.
Aerial spraying drones are tank-carrying UAVs that spray crops with fertilisers or pesticides. Unlike a traditional tractor, drones can spray crops more precisely. Because they can be programmed to spray an even amount of liquid in all necessary sections, there’s no risk of overdosing your crops.
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), a.k.a drones, are receiving much attention as means to apply pesticides. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to operate, don’t leave tracks in the field and can reach difficult places with ease. RPAS have been used to apply pesticides in many parts of Asia for over a decade.
Based on a 3-gallon-per-acre application rate, and including battery-swap and payload-refilling time, the agricultural drones used in Rantizo’s drone application system with Upgrade Kit can cover an impressive 14 acres per hour, or around 100 acres per day.
Originally published at The News International