AgroPages-Agripower Ghana CEO calls for paradigm shift in Agric production-Agricultural news

The Chief Executive Officer of Agripower Ghana Limited, Samuel Seidu has called for a paradigm shift in Agric production in the country.

He says technological advancement makes it imperative for its implication in agriculture.

“The world is changing and agriculture production is also changing, farmers need to embrace this new change to improve yields,” he said.

For centuries, crop spraying has been an arduous and burdensome endeavour for farmers and agricultural production companies. Crop spraying involves covering extremely large expanses of land comprehensively to ensure proper growth of crops.

In addition to being a laborious duty, crop spraying utilizes many harsh chemicals that pose dangers to human health with continued exposure.

Drone technology is a much safer alternative, incorporating ultrasonic, light detection and grounding lasers that offer immense relief to farmers via precision crop spraying that is five times faster than traditional crop spraying.

Utilizing state-of-the-art topographical scanning, agricultural drones dispense the optimal amount of fluid to ensure even coverage for proper crop growth without unnecessary waste.

Agripower Ghana Limited has introduced the use of drones in Agric production to make life easier for farmers.

The CEO believes “With the drones, labour on the farms and its costs would be reduced drastically with guaranteed high yields’’.

He said the introduction of the drone system is in support of government's laudable 'Planting for Food and Jobs' programme.

Mr Seidu added that "with the drones, fertiliser application on the farms will also be more accurate and efficient."

Irrigation is essential to preventing the dry conditions that inevitably result in dead crops, he said.

Highly refined drone technology makes use of a plethora of sensors including thermal, multispectral, and hyperspectral varieties to analyze and pinpoint the specific crops that are dehydrated.

In addition to measuring the density, heat signature, and overall health of the field as a whole to provide a comprehensive overview for farmers and producers.

Also, Mr Seidu said the monitoring of crops is an ongoing endeavour that is critical to the success of healthy and robust bounties.

“For farmers and producers of yesteryear, the observing of crops has been a problematic endeavour due to the navigating of vast swaths of land on foot.

“Further exacerbating difficulties in monitoring crops and fields are inclement weather conditions that can result in an inability to check on crops,” he said.

According to him, current drone technology offers agricultural producers a way to monitor crops in a highly efficient, low-risk way with precision imagery available 24 hours a day, seven days a week readily displaying any problematic crop areas or areas in need of improvement.

Planting crops is a costly and cumbersome endeavour that has traditionally relied on manpower.

High-end drone farming technology offers drone-powered planting techniques that reduce planting costs by up to 85%, the incredible reduction in planting costs is a result of the drone’s ability to perform a litany of responsibilities.

This includes, but not limited to, planting within the soil, injecting pods with seeds, and creating plants and crops that are ready to grow and be used.

Again, analyses of soil and fields are imperative to the success of crops and must be performed at the very beginning of planting, during growth, and towards the end of harvest.

The technology of drone aircraft is increasing every year to fulfil societal needs, and today is a multi-faceted state-of-the-art concept that has already grown in marked ways.

The agricultural industry is perhaps the most notable purveyor of drone technology and has embraced drone-powered products comprehensively and have in effect, revolutionized agriculture in leaps and bounds.