What do drones have to offer to agriculture? That’s the central question in this week’s episode, which will take us from the Philippines, where FAO is using drones to gather detailed land and crop images for disaster preparedness, to the U.S. state of Kansas, where one team of researchers is zooming in on invasive bugs with the help of remote-controlled eyes in the sky.
Under the Philippines pilot program, some 25 FAO and government technical experts are ready to be deployed across the country to support drone missions whose first goal is to assess where farmlands are most at risk from natural disasters and quickly assess damages after they strike. The local team will run us through a flight simulation and we’ll explain why drone technology is particularly relevant in the local context. Brian McCornack from Kansas State University outlines his joint project with the University of Queensland in Australia to prevent and control pest outbreaks in wheat fields and some of the challenges that remain when considering to use drones in agriculture more widely.
Click here for a transcript of this week's episode.
