Coopavel will use drones to improve rural technical assistance

Sixteen agronomists from Coopavel have just participated in a course on Generation and processing of aerial images using drones or satellites. The training was organized by NAP, the FAG Professional Improvement Center (Faculdade Assis Gurgacz) in partnership with Sescoop/Paraná – National Cooperative Learning Service. The contents were passed on by postgraduate professor Esmael Lopes.

The course was held over two days, with practical and theoretical guidance. Everything the agronomists learned was put into practice on field flights to capture images. All collected material was then processed and diagnosed. Esmael informed how to obtain the best shots and how to optimize flights carried out in specific areas.

Coopavel West Branch Manager, Altair Garcia, informs that all new learning is welcome and necessary, especially when it comes to technologies that are increasingly present in the daily lives of rural properties. Drones become a working tool for the cooperative's agronomists, thus improving the technical assistance guaranteed to members, according to Altair.

According to Esmael, the drone is an additional support tool for farmers and also for professionals in the technical field. “It’s a new technology for the segment, which offers incredible support.” Esmael informs that four years ago there wasn't even a subject dedicated to the subject in Agronomy courses offered by higher education institutions in Western Paraná. “This and other new features are becoming increasingly present and useful in the daily life of agribusiness”, highlights the professor.

Irreversible

Agronomists realize the speed with which new products arrive and are taken to the field. And many of them become decisive, such as georeferencing and monitoring of crops, according to Altair. Coopavel seeks to monitor all advances closely and has already purchased the first drones to improve its attention to the field.

“We need to be connected to the new. Monitor developments and offer members the best information and the best resources so that they can produce more and better. Technology is a fundamental and irreversible ally for rural producers”, says the president of Coopavel, Dilvo Grolli.

The manager of the cooperative's branch in Lindoeste, Ramon Aurélio dos Santos, one of those enrolled in the drone course offered by NAP in partnership with Sescoop. The information obtained by drones, combined with satellite images, forms a broad and robust collection. “We now have valuable data in our hands that help us make even more assertive decisions. Agronomists gain an important boost when participating in training like this”, says Ramon.