Drones in precision farming

Present situation worldwide and in Switzerland

Automated and precise agricultural processes are increasingly in demand, including in Switzerland, with a view to cutting costs and using resources more efficiently. The term “precision farming” describes the combined use of electronic and mechanical devices in order to improve agricultural efficiency. Precision farming makes it possible to secure yields, boost revenue and reduce harmful environmental impacts, e.g. due to the runoff of crop protection products. Citizens are increasingly calling for the minimisation of such environmental impacts. Robots and drones will play an important role in the future: they are optimised for specific tasks and make it possible to carry out field assignments more efficiently in terms of both time and space.

Today, drones are used in agriculture mostly for monitoring and product application purposes. Drone monitoring provides up-to-date, high-resolution information and images of partly poorly accessible locations (e.g. meadows, treetops), which can be used for farm advisory and mapping services. The rescue of fawns using thermal imaging cameras is one such example. The use of maps for intra-field crop management, as practised extensively in some neighbouring European countries, is not yet commonplace in Switzerland. Possible reasons include very low fertiliser costs (e.g. nitrogen), official fertilisation guidelines devoid of technological measures for intra-field fertilisation management, and legal regulations. Drones for the application or spraying of agricultural adjuvants are used mainly in crop protection. One successful example is the dropping of trichogramma capsules to fight the European corn borer, i.e. biological pest control using antagonistic insects. This has by now become a standard method in Switzerland and in the EU, and its robust automation has greatly improved efficiency. The spraying of liquid crop protection products is subject to stricter legal constraints and is more difficult to carry out; it is technically and legally still at development stage. In the field of viticulture, Switzerland has developed internationally groundbreaking drone applications, especially for steep hillsides. These technologies are likely to gain ground and become relevant in other fields such as fruit and vegetable cultivation or preventive precision application in the fields.

Switzerland operates at the global forefront in the development of drone technologies. This applies in particular to the fields of sensor technology, drone control systems and data processing, in which the country is setting new standards. Even though the use of drones in Swiss farming is currently still limited, the technology holds significant potential for the country’s diverse and highly structured agriculture. Drone-based technology is oftentimes more flexible and sometimes also more cost-effective than e.g. tractor-based systems.

Implications for Switzerland

Conditions in Switzerland for the development of agricultural drone technology are good, as know-how is available in almost all relevant fields, from basic to applied and practical research. The aim should be to establish links with farming practitioners, promote solutions directly on farms, and improve usability. Appropriate research promotion and technology transfer schemes should be put in place. The integration of such technologies in actual agricultural processes will tend to be slow. Compared to other countries, adverse factors include relatively low fertiliser and commodity prices as well as agricultural subsidies that are only loosely tied to production efficiency. Also, the legal and regulatory framework for the use of drones is currently being overhauled. And finally, drones play almost no role in the training and education of farmers, agricultural consultants and agricultural engineers. There is a need for clear and favourable framework conditions as well as capacity building in order to extend technological leadership in the field of drones to the realm of agriculture within five to ten years.