The idea of undertaking and innovating has always been on the mind of Gustavo Paredes, a business engineer who he quit his office job in the financial area in Guayaquil to focus on technology from agriculture.
In 2015 he began his analysis on the internet and found the drones. She investigated more about the device and what it could do like mapping, scanning farms and even counting plants caught her attention.
Later he was curious to see a drone with a tank and found out that it was for fumigation. So, he searched for providers and acquired one and started with that service to friends and acquaintances. “At the beginning of 2017 I brought my first team and I began to provide services to acquaintances with rice crops,” says Paredes, who admits that he had never operated a drone, but decided to take a chance.
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“I was nervous, anguished because drones are expensive and it could fall,” says the CEO of Agdronec SA31 years old, who After his first experience, he chose to practice handling the equipment on a soccer field. near where his girlfriend lives.
“I threw myself into the ring with the first service in the Daule canton and now he has been a client of mine since 2017,” he says.
After that economic income, the entrepreneur offered his services on days off, that is, on weekends. And so it remained until 2019 when he acquired two more drones with obstacle sensors and cameras.
Paredes felt the need to take “that leap of faith” and decides to resign a week before the country enters a lockdown due to the pandemic COVID-19, in March 2020. “It was my first week as a 100% entrepreneur, but the good thing is that people knew me and knew that I provided this service,” says Paredes, who mentions that he had quite a few requests despite the pandemic and what his “play” was successful.
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By 2021, it chose to expand its service and incorporated the sale of drones; pilot training in the provinces of Guayas and Los Ríos and advising companies where they also manage these equipment.
And it was so that Paredes it went from having two fumigation services a month to almost every day in rice crops in Daule and Samborondón. He specializes more in the short cycle of the grass with a drone. And his courses are twice a month. “We have had months that we work 30 days because in agriculture there are no holidays, or stoppages, or anything because the plague enters and does not rest,” he affirms.
Paredes emphasizes that his enterprise is not based on arriving at the place and fumigating, he says that it is required assess the risks of flight, know where there are cablesadvertisements, among others, so that the equipment can operate.
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His drone fumigates, for example, every six hectares in one hour. And the farmer is the one who places the chemical. “Because each farmer works with a trusted chemist,” he points out. In one of the places where Paredes provides his services is at Hacienda La Virgen, in Los Ríos.
Paredes maintains his business alone, although he hires temporary staff during the fumigations and prioritize field labor. “They are the ones who know, the ones who are located in the area, they are the ones who refer the contacts and come to be like commercial executives in the business and at the same time as operators in the field,” he says.
The fumigation service provided by Paredes with Agdronec costs $18 per hectare. This value varies, depending on the obstacles in the territory. As for the beginner pilot courses, it costs $300 per person and lasts five hours. It also offers a $100 discount to those who go with their drone.
His office is no longer a building but on a farm on the road to Daule, where he imparts his knowledge. “Starting an undertaking has been very hard because first you have the instability of the country, the strikes, the insecurity, which in some way not only affects the business but also emotionally. There is also instability because the official prices of crops suffer falls and there is not so much liquidity in the producer and he has to cut certain services and the first is spraying with drones ”, he comments.
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For Paredes there was a major obstacle that he had to overcome and it was the resistance of the farmer to technology. “It has been complicated because my whole life has been based on themes of tradition. It was a barrier to entry because not everyone trusted, but that’s not the case anymore”, he assures.
For the owner of Agdronec, learning about agriculture and living in the countryside is an achievement. It aspires to grow in the coming years through a business alliance in the agricultural sector in order to achieve national coverage
It also intends to spread the training to communities in agriculture. He firmly believes that innovation is the way to go. And that is why he recommends entrepreneurs build an idea and put effort into it. “Remember this is an endurance race, not a sprint,” he emphasizes. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
