XAG has introduced its P100 Agricultural Drone to farmers in the country of Panama, providing an accessible approach to more profitable and sustainable farming practices.
Drone demonstrations and training are being conducted on farms nationwide, while trials on seeding and fertilization have been carried out, especially for rice cultivation. The company XAG reported that its Latin American business on agricultural unmanned devices grew 380% in the first half of 2022.
Previously, large farms used to spray with helicopters, which were expensive and required a manned pilot on board. The XAG P100 Agricultural Drone is more affordable, unmanned with a navigation system that allows it to fly autonomously on pre-set route with a few taps on a smartphone, greatly reducing operational errors.
The rotary atomization technology is a control system unit that applies a variable-rate application to precisely control flow rate, spray width and droplet size.
The drone could spray up to 18 hectares per hour and can be used to evenly spray fertilizing granules, instead of using tractors or manual labour. This leads to Farmers using less fertilizer in a more efficient way but still producing high-yield crops. This also helps avoid soil compaction and minimize yield losses.
XAG P100 Agricultural Drone has also been introduced into Vietnam’s rice paddies with a high rate of success. The drone can sow seeds, spread fertilizers, and spray crops, equipped with the RTK navigation system allowing it to stick on the exact path and avoid overlaps or misses.
One of the main difficulties faced by rice farmers is the lack of irrigation systems. 80% of rice production in Panama is done by the dry method, which makes it highly dependent on rainfall, while the other 20% use artificial irrigation systems, according to a report on Panama by the Kingdom of Netherlands.
The largest part of the harvest therefore depends on weather conditions, which is becoming increasingly difficult to forecast due to climate change.
A shortage of locally produced rice therefore goes along with the threat of increased import competition. This forces rice farmers to reduce their prices, yielding minimal profit margins.
The government also supports smart farming equipment application to boost yields and improve the income of farmers. As a 40-kilogram large payload Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the XAG P100 Agricultural Drone addresses the demand to apply precision for rice seeding, fertilizer spreading and pest control.
With an annual GDP growth rate of almost 5%, Panama belongs to one of the fastest growing economies of Latin America. Over the past few decades, however, this growth stems decreasingly from the agricultural sector.
This has caused concern as more than 40% of Panama’s population lives on the countryside with the majority earning a modest living through small-scale farming.
Hence, while Panama is increasingly perceived as the ‘Gateway to the Americas’, due to its favourable central position and the Panama Canal, the agro sector is left on the backburner. This has led to an urgent need in to shift focus to Cost Saving Sustainability to bring back Agriculture to its profitable roots.
In a country where its people eat more rice than the world average; it is no surprise that its production plays an important role in the Panamanian economy.
Rice is the staple food as well as one of the main crops of Panama. 84,459 hectares of rice were planted in 2022, with an increase of 11,160 hectares on a yearly basis. Although rice is grown in nearly every region of the country, most of the production takes place in the province of Chiriquí.
In face of rising production costs, the government has enacted incentives that encourage farmers to expand rice cultivation and ease the burden on consumers. According to Panama’s Ministry of Agricultural Development, local producers can get a generous subsidy for every kilogram of rice produced.
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XAG P100 Drone Helps Farmers Practice Sustainable Farming – Geospatial World
