Some small-scale cassava farmers in Cambodia are looking into drone technology to achieve higher crop yield and lower costs.
Cassava is the second largest crop grown in the country after rice and it contributes 4% to the GDP growth.
The production, processing and export of cassava has been the key driver of Cambodia's agricultural economy. According to the "National Cassava Policy 2020-2025" issued by Royal Government of Cambodia, the country is positioned to be a home of cassava production and processing industries and becomes a reliable supplier of cassava products for regional and global market
The crop is planted over 600 thousand hectares of farmland, involving intensive labour and time-consuming process. Cassava farming provides employment to thousands of rural workers across Cambodia. Besides food, the crop is turned into flour, paper and alcohol.
Taking a big leap forward
Last month, cassava farmer Chhay Thi became an early adopter of drone technology when he engaged the services of Red Sparrow Cambodia to demonstrate autonomous weeding using an XAG agricultural drone on his 10-hectare cassava field.
Red Sparrow is the local partner of Chinese drone provider XAG.
The drone flew over ridges of cassava plants, sprayed precisely along the pre-set route, and finished eight hectares of herbicide spraying via unmanned control. In the past, the same amount of work usually takes farm workers more than a week to complete manually, but now, it can be done within one hour by only one agricultural drone.
Besides the increased efficiency, drones are helping farmers like Chhay Thi to reduce overall planting costs.
Continue reading: https://futureiot.tech/cambodia-cassava-farmers-eye-drone-technology/
Cassava is the second largest crop grown in the country after rice and it contributes 4% to the GDP growth.
The production, processing and export of cassava has been the key driver of Cambodia's agricultural economy. According to the "National Cassava Policy 2020-2025" issued by Royal Government of Cambodia, the country is positioned to be a home of cassava production and processing industries and becomes a reliable supplier of cassava products for regional and global market
The crop is planted over 600 thousand hectares of farmland, involving intensive labour and time-consuming process. Cassava farming provides employment to thousands of rural workers across Cambodia. Besides food, the crop is turned into flour, paper and alcohol.
Taking a big leap forward
Last month, cassava farmer Chhay Thi became an early adopter of drone technology when he engaged the services of Red Sparrow Cambodia to demonstrate autonomous weeding using an XAG agricultural drone on his 10-hectare cassava field.
Red Sparrow is the local partner of Chinese drone provider XAG.
The drone flew over ridges of cassava plants, sprayed precisely along the pre-set route, and finished eight hectares of herbicide spraying via unmanned control. In the past, the same amount of work usually takes farm workers more than a week to complete manually, but now, it can be done within one hour by only one agricultural drone.
Besides the increased efficiency, drones are helping farmers like Chhay Thi to reduce overall planting costs.
Continue reading: https://futureiot.tech/cambodia-cassava-farmers-eye-drone-technology/
