Save your own: precision farming and marginalization

Victory in the field: troubles in agribusiness in conditions of lack of working capital, problems with sales, low product prices, and a catastrophic lack of personnel. What does the market expect, and is there a way out of the situation when planning is impossible, and work is necessary?

We talked about precision agriculture, problems, resources, unstable operation of navigation systems in combat conditions, flight ban for agricultural drones, and solutions with Maksym Romanovsky, Head of the precision agriculture department of Titan Machinery Ukraine.

- Today, both farmers and service companies are faced with similar problems. We live in the same information field, with the same stress - we work in the same conditions. Qualified personnel are mobilized, and it is necessary to go to the fields to work to ensure food security. Instability with sales and attempts to ban product transit through several European countries are at their peak today. The problem with the lack of specialists has become extraordinarily acute both in agribusiness and in companies engaged in service. If earlier we could send our specialists to the enterprise and, in some cases, invite equipment manufacturer specialists to Ukraine, today we have a shortage of personnel and the impossibility of the arrival of foreign colleagues. Today, agribusiness is in a medium-heavy condition, but the desire to work for farmers is more vital than ever! We are all closely connected as we work to win this critical moment. Modern technology requires qualified specialists, so you must overcome real-time and scheduled work challenges. There are specific difficulties with GPS and RTK signals, and to some extent with equipment maintenance - everywhere, you need people who know their business well. The situation is gradually stabilizing and improving; we are working hard for this.

- To ensure work this year, we are looking for qualified specialists and constantly training personnel. We strengthened cooperation with leading agricultural universities to start preparing students of 4-5 years for fundamental work in the field. At the same time, this will allow them to acquire practical knowledge and be ready to start working practice during their studies to provide high-quality and professional maintenance of equipment from leading foreign manufacturers in the future. We have also strengthened online work with enterprise specialists so that they can quickly receive the necessary informational support and instructions for solving problematic tasks that arise during work in the field. I will not say that these processes occur without obstacles, and everything succeeds immediately, but we make efforts, and perseverance and a balanced approach always give the desired result. We believe that joint steps and the thirst for development to support Ukrainian farmers will bring ripe fruits and the long-awaited victory, - Maksym says inspiringly.

- Availability of tools for precision agriculture at the enterprise today is not just a competitive advantage; it is a lifeline. If the enterprise started implementing technologies earlier, then in the current situation, the presence of professional personnel who know how to work with new technologies helps to maintain the margin acceptable for the survival of agribusiness. Those who took their time with technologies found themselves in a challenging situation - there were no resources for implementation. It isn't easy to survive without the savings that new technologies provide. For example, several of our customers, who hesitated for a long time, bought XAG agricultural drones last year and, armed with precision farming systems, managed to carry out the necessary operations in the conditions of this spring when the weather did not allow them to go to the field for a long time. And for those farmers who decided to wait with new technologies, it isn't easy today.

- This is a challenge; we are working with our foreign partners to overcome these problems. Thanks to the systematic work carried out by the manufacturer together with the Ukrainian agricultural community, local and territorial defense authorities have increasingly begun to allow flights of agricultural sprayer drones. The firmware is being updated, instructions for equipment operators are being developed, and data is being clarified. Where the flights of agricultural drones are still prohibited, it remains possible to work with ground machinery using precision farming tools, such as autopilot, direction finder, VSN camera, and others. We are gradually overcoming obstacles with our farmers, - says Maksym Romanovskyi.

The article prepared by the material from latifundist.com