The project is led by ASAJA Jaen, and will be developed over two years and includes drones flight through farms in Jaen, Cordoba, Granada, Almeria and Malaga to analyze the ground and determine different parameters
CATEC is participating in the “R&D project on precision agriculture in the olive grove using Unmanned Aerial Systems” Operative Group, a new initiative that integrates one of the most ambitious and innovative operational groups in Andalusia in which the application of RPAS to precision agriculture will be studied and, more specifically, to the cultivation of olives. It is a project led by ASAJA-Jaen that aims to make farms more efficient and respectful of the environment while improving the profitability of farmers and strengthen the links between research and the rural world.
In this two-year project, included in the Andalusian Rural Development Plan 2014-2020, the University of Jaen and the Caja Rural Foundation with its Olivarum laboratory also participate as members. Likewise, the Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training Institute (IFAPA) and the ASAJA associations of Granada, Almeria, Malaga and Cordoba collaborate, too.
The initiative is based on drones flights through olive farms in Jaen, Cordoba, Granada, Almeria and Malaga in order to analyze the ground and the olive, and determine parameters such as humidity, olive ripening status or pests, among many others. CATEC will be responsible for carrying out these flights, designing the UAS system for the flights and, advised by ASAJA, develop the necessary applications to define the sensors that will be used and the data that should be analyzed in the flights. Once the flight campaign is finished, the data processing will be carried out to obtain useful information about the state of the crop.
The project was presented at the headquarters of ASAJA-Jaen with representatives of all participating entities, and was attended by the provincial delegate of Agriculture, Juan Balbin.
