[img]https://1.bp..com/-srAssKVORMI/XsEBQfdJCMI/AAAAAAAAAzE/svDM63vZH58fUr7imZ2S9TzZUI9xVk-FQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/drone%2Bflying%2Bover%2Bfarm.jpg[/img]
There are so many professions that improve our lives in subtle and indirect ways.

For example, drone images, when processed with GIS, can help farmers detect exact location of weeds and sick crops.

With this knowledge farmers will use less fertilizers and herbicides thereby reducing costs and negative impact on the environment.

It’s very simple.

Every object has a unique “signature”.

Signature here refers to which type and how much (electromagnetic) energy the object reflects.

Healthy green plants, for example, emit a lot of the green electromagnetic energy. That’s why they look green.

We can train a computer to classify the pixels in a drone image as follows.

Pixels of high green reflection = healthy crops.

pixels of low green reflection = stressed (sick) crops.

And pixels of little or no green reflection = bare soil.

With this knowledge, a farmer can make many useful deductions to save costs, energy and time.

That means reduced selling price and happy buyers. It’s a win-win for everyone.

This process, as simple as it seems is useful in many fields of human endeavours; mining, forestry, wildlife, town planning etc.

Unfortunately, many of our farms aren’t worth even a million naira. So how can they afford to pay a GIS specialist a few millions of naira in order to save tens and hundreds of millions.

Next time, if you’re wondering why we still import food despite the large number of farmers we have, this is one reason. We’re farming hard, they’re farming wise.

Source:
https://geoafrikana.com/how-drones-can-help-farmers/

Cc: Pavore9 FarmTech lalasticlala

Unfortunately, many of our farms aren’t worth even a million naira. So how can they afford to pay a GIS specialist a few millions of naira in order to save tens and hundreds of millions.

Your submission above is very true but quite unfortunate. Someone like me have been looking for various ways to introduce precision into our agriculture sector, but comments from those you pitch such ideas to is discouraging. They are not to be blamed though, your submission summarizes it all.

Is it the cost of flying drones or the image processing from the required spectral index that comes after; Its damn expensive to be afforded by small unit farming we practice here.

Nevertheless, There are still affordable and efficient ways that small unit farmers can be accomodated ( such as aquiring high resolution satellite imageries in lieu of drone images) for a start pending when majority will appreciate the great benefits in precision agriculture

Factism:
Your submission above is very true but quite unfortunate. Someone like me have been looking for various ways to introduce precision into our agriculture sector, but comments from those you pitch such ideas to is discouraging. They are not to be blamed though, your submission summarizes it all.

Is it the cost of flying drones or the image processing from the required spectral index that comes after; Its damn expensive to be afforded by small unit farming we practice here.

Nevertheless, There are still affordable and efficient ways that small unit farmers can be accomodated ( such as aquiring high resolution satellite imageries in lieu of drone images) for a start pending when majority will appreciate the great benefits in precision agriculture

You're on point.

True, there are high resolution satellite images available commercially. Some can give centimeters of precision.

As you mentioned, they are a lot more affordable than drones. However, they still suffer from the common satellite problems; cloud cover.

When you consider the fact that many of our farming activities are during the rainy season when there's thick cover cloud cover then you see that drones have an advantage over satellite images.

Also, satellites have a fixed orbit time. Some take 5 days while some take more than 2 weeks to revisit the same scene. And you know that, all things being equal, as pixel resolution increases so does time before revisit increases.

Nonetheless, half loaf, as they say, is better than none. It's better for us to use satellite images than nothing. Hopefully, this will whet our people's appetite for precision farming and give the Nigerian remote sensing experts ample time to understand our local system.

As you mentioned, they are a lot more affordable than drones. However, they still suffer from the common satellite problems; cloud cover.

When you consider the fact that many of our farming activities are during the rainy season when there's thick cover cloud cover then you see that drones have an advantage over satellite images.

Exactly, you are right. But as you said, half bread is better than none.
Moreover, there are satellite services that allow cloud adjustment up to 0%, the only major con is that it wont be recent for that particular day i.e If you need to aquire a farm's image for today 17th May, the latest available at 0% cloud cover may be for 2 days ago. That of today may not be available until about 2 - 3 days more.

Nonetheless, half loaf, as they say, is better than none. It's better for us to use satellite images than nothing. Hopefully, this will whet our people's appetite for precision farming and give the Nigerian remote sensing experts ample time to understand our local system.

Yes yes

Factism:

Exactly, you are right. But as you said, half bread is better than none.
Moreover, there are satellite services that allow cloud adjustment up to 0%, the only major con is that it wont be recent for that particular day i.e If you need to aquire a farm's image for today 17th May, the latest available at 0% cloud cover may be for 2 days ago. That of today may not be available until about 2 - 3 days more.




Yes yes

Thanks so much for your immeasurable contribution. I've gained so much from you.

You are welcome

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