Artificial intelligence has reached the agricultural sector after the Agency for Regulation and Control and Fito and Zoosanitary (Agrocalidad) launched thirteen state-of-the-art drones in the nine main provinces where bananas, plantains, orito and other musaces are produced. The operation of these drones is part of the first phase of the implementation of phytosanitary notification, which the entity carried out with international cooperation.

These drones were activated by the management of Agrocalidad with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Biodiversity and German Cooperation – GIZ, with the latter organization the Alert Project campaign is being held on the air, which articulates phytosanitary surveillance. .

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In a statement, Agrocalidad assured that before this initiative the Agency’s technicians conducted walking tours, prioritizing the critical areas of these crops, carefully observing the symptoms of different pests, based on the area of ​​the production site. In this way, four hectares of crops were monitored in an hour and a half.

The surveillance process so far has been completed with drone flights that investigate 30 hectares in an hour, i.e. almost eight times the area with 100% efficiency. This digital tool generates greater precision in crop vision from the air at a height of 30 meters, from where anomalies in the plants can be seen.

Another advantage is the georeferenced images, which allow location in the field for visual verification or exclusion of possible specific symptoms of Fusarium Foc R4T.

The captured photos go to a platform that uses artificial intelligence to analyze the samples and collect data, which also represent valuable information for early detection and quantification of possible phytosanitary warnings.