Monday 16 October: Opening of the activity

Overview of today's content : 

1. Introduction
2. Live opening webinar at 2PM UTC/4PM CEST
3. Practical information
4. Exercise 1: Experience capitalization
5. Warm up: some blogs and websites

1. Introduction

Welcome to the e-Agriculture Learning Activity on the use of drones for agriculture and rural development!

Over the next two weeks we will be discovering different aspects of the use of drones for agriculture and rural development together. We will be using different formats of learning methods such as webinars, text, video, exercises and online discussions. Each day of this learning activity, new information will be made available for you to browse, read and explore. You will receive an email with the summary and link to the content. Once published, the content will remain available on the platform for participants who want to read it at a later time. You can download the programme for the two weeks here. In this way you can schedule in some time for the live sessions of your interest.

2. Live opening webinar 

To start our learning activity we will have a live session during which the facilitators will explain how the activity is organized and where you can share your questions and contributions with the group of participants. We wish you a happy learning period and fruitful exchanges with the other participants.

3. Practical information

Help

During this course you can always ask the e-Agriculture Team for help writing an email to [email protected] or by posting your questions on the platform. We will try to help you as soon as possible!

Time of the webinars

All live webinars are scheduled at the same time - 2PM UTC or 4PM  Central European Summer Time. Please find below a list of timezones so you can check at what time the webinars take place for you! Do not forget recordings will be made available after each webinars, so if the time is not convenient for you you can always watch the recording at a later time.

• San Diego 7 AM
• Panama 9 AM
• Washington DC 10 AM
• Santiago de Chile 11 AM
• Accra 2PM
• Dakar 2PM
• Brussels 4 PM
• Rome 4 PM
• Budapest 4 PM
• Nairobi 5PM
• New Delhi 7.30 PM
• Bangkok 9 PM

• Make sure that you have a good internet connection
• We strongly recommend that you log on to Chrome or Firefox (to avoid additional plug-in downloads)
• Open this link well in advance (around 10 minutes) of the Webinar so - in case necessary - you have enough time to install the Adobe Flash Player 10.3.Go to:  http://na1cps.adobeconnect.com/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm  to check your settings. 
• Log in as a guest - entering your first and last name

Let us watch this video on the use of drones for precision agriculture by Agribusiness TV

4. Exercise 

5. Warm up: some blogs and websites 

Warming up? Take a look at the following blog posts, news and websites to get a first taste of the topic.

A few of the articles on drones previously posted on e-Agriculture.org

• Options for the use of drones in agriculture:  http://www.e-agriculture.org/blog/options-use-drones-agriculture
• Drone Technology is aiding data collection for crop breeding in Africa: http://www.e-agriculture.org/news/drone-technology-aiding-data-collection-crop-breeding-africa
• Six Ways Drones Are Revolutionizing Agriculture: http://www.e-agriculture.org/news/six-ways-drones-are-revolutionizing-agriculture
• FAO and World Bank experiences in using drones for improving governance http://www.e-agriculture.org/blog/fao-and-world-bank-experiences-using-drones-improving-governance
• CTA supports drone operations in Benin, DRC,Ghana, Tanzania and Rwanda http://www.e-agriculture.org/news/cta-supports-drone-operations-benin-drcghana-tanzania-and-rwanda
• Drones in Agriculture http://www.e-agriculture.org/blog/drones-agriculture
• Cost-sharing initiative for the set-up of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) services for agriculture in six ACP countries http://www.e-agriculture.org/news/cost-sharing-initiative-set-unmanned-aerial-systems-uas-services-agriculture-six-acp-countries
• InterDrone: The International Drone Conference and Exposition http://www.e-agriculture.org/events/interdrone-international-drone-conference-and-exposition
• How Drone Technology Is Bringing Environmental Benefits To Farms http://www.e-agriculture.org/blog/how-drone-technology-bringing-environmental-benefits-farms-1

Centre for Technical Cooperation in the APC-Region (CTA) and ICT Update

Are you interested in ICTs for Agriculture (ICT4Ag), in general, and the use of drones for agriculture in particular? Make sure you join the UAV4Ag communities on social media  ! For many years, CTA has been on the forefront of introducing innovative technologies within the entire agricultural value chain to improve agricultural production and food security. You can find interesting updates on their projects and stories from the field on their corporate (www.cta.int) and thematic websites like http://ict4ag.cta.int and http://muiis.cta.int . CTA also publishes a magazine on ICT4Ag called ICT Update. You can consult articles and download entire issues via http://ictupdate.cta.int.

Take a look at the following publications that are specifically about drones:

• ICT Update n°82 - Drones for agriculture: This edition of the ICTUpdate is entirely dedicated to the topic of drones - dive in! This edition is available in English, French, Spanish and Swahili: https://goo.gl/vTZxKz
• Small Unmanned Aerial System Mapping versus Conventional Methods: The use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) in aerial mapping applications is increasingly being used as an appropriate surveying method in many sectors, particularly for agriculture. Since the use of sUAS is new to many agricultural sector players, it is useful to reflect on the costs and benefits, and related technical and operational challenges, as well as the advantages that present themselves in the practical implementation of this technology. https://goo.gl/UWCyU2
• Regulations and realities in Nigeria’s UAV airspace: https://goo.gl/onfRQB  (French: https://goo.gl/SpZejy )
• Benin’s drone regulations lag behind: https://goo.gl/FmJLG4 (French: https://goo.gl/gPVbV6 )
•  Are regulations stifling the drone-based agri-service industry in South Africa? https://goo.gl/RAf9xZ  (French: https://goo.gl/BNDHG7 )
• Smooth ride for drone operators in Ghana: https://goo.gl/iQWFfM (French; https://goo.gl/Nom2QJ )
• Drone regulation in Kenya: about to take-off: https://goo.gl/RHXruy  (French: https://goo.gl/ycwkF9 )

Consult the Global drone regulations database which has been developed as a multiagency effort and to which you may want to contribute www.droneregulations.info

We will learn more about the work of CTA on drones on Thursday 26 October. We will share a recorded presentation from Giacomo Rambaldi on regulations, privacy, and safety. You will be able to ask questions to Giacomo on the page dedicated to this topic.

Perception survey on the use of drones in agriculture

Starting last week, CTA has been running a perception survey on the use of drones for agriculture. You may be interested in sharing your opinion. The survey can be taken in English and French. For more information and participation in the survey: click here

UAV4Ag

UAV4Ag is a Dgroups based community of practice on the use of UAVs for agriculture. It is a CoP of over 800 members from 100 countries, that share their experiences in developing UAV technologies and related software applications. Events, capacity development opportunities and resources are shared and there is a strong focus on existing and forthcoming policies, laws and regulations governing the use of UAVs. The moderation of this community is jointly managed by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA). You can join the CoP for free and stay in the loop! The CoP can also be followed on twitter ( www.twitter.com/uav4ag) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/uav4ag )

UAViators 

UAViators (www.uaviators.org) is a community with over 2,900 members from more than 120 countries. Its mission is to promote safe, coordinated and effective use of UAVs for data collection and cargo delivery in a wide range of humanitarian and development settings. UAViators aims to develop and champion international guidelines for the responsible use of UAVs. The community documents lessons learned and best practices, organizes forums, and convene experts meetings to facilitate information sharing, coordination and learning.

Did you read a great blog on the topic of drones? Did you come across an article that you think no one should miss? Do you know a website that brings together valuable information? If yes, why not share the link and some information by commenting on this post!