Future of agricultural aviation with the arrival of drones

In the near future, agricultural aviation will certainly be carried out with integrated operations. Using aircraft, whether fixed or rotary wing, associated with other types of application (aerial and terrestrial), such as the use of drones, which are beginning to arouse great interest on the part of producers, will become a reality. In areas of difficult access, in certain niches of activity, in specific control locations, the use of these machines will represent an important tool for rural producers, resulting in better phytosanitary control with greater specificity.

The use of these aircraft (drones) will be expanded in number and operational capacity. Adopting on-board electronics, providing application operations at different times, whether during the day or even at night, will account for factors that will contribute significantly to expansion and greater safety in the application of phytosanitary products.

The trend towards adopting aircraft with greater load capacity, with greater speed and a greater working range, will also be in Brazil, something that we will be experiencing in a short space of time, as is already happening, for example, in the USA, where 80 % of the operational fleet is characterized by large aircraft, with greater load capacity, greater working range and travel speed, resulting, consequently, in a greater operational performance found in so-called “turbo aircraft”.

However, employment in piston aircraft operations, which currently still represents the largest percentage of the Brazilian fleet, will in the future be directed to smaller areas, directly influenced by competition with aircraft with higher operational performance, and which will have to serve to the largest areas. Considering the number of these aircraft existing in the country, this transition will be gradual, which will also allow us to observe their use in large areas. Aiming to provide greater dynamism to companies, reducing costs and using the existing technical team, several entrepreneurs, taking advantage of their operational structure, have purchased aircraft with greater performance, which has reflected in the increase in the area worked with agricultural aviation. This can be seen in Figure 1, where it can be seen that in the last ten years there has been a significant growth in the Brazilian aircraft fleet, with around 57,6%, of which, 19% use kerosene (used in turbocharged aircraft). ), 35% alcohol and 46% use gasoline as fuel, mostly concentrated in the South, Central-West and Southeast regions.

From the point of view of application technology, we have also seen very rapid evolution in recent years and an improvement in the supply by the equipment manufacturer business community, of improvements in electronic accessories to be installed on aircraft, ensuring a safer, more efficient application. needs, at the lowest cost. Automatic opening and closing equipment at previously plotted points, increasing precision in distribution at the desired points, automatically determining the interruption of application in safety/restricted areas, have seen strong growth. 

NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Other technologies already available, but still of high cost, associated with DGPS systems incorporating functions that allow in real time (which will be quite common) the monitoring of these aircraft and their application equipment remotely, will enable the producer, or the technician responsible, monitor and exchange information with immediate and punctual actions during the application process, resulting in greater safety in driving these aircraft and in the work carried out.

The installation of instant identification sensors in controlled applications, whether of liquid and/or solid products, together with other parameters, such as checking meteorological conditions, risk of drift, indication of droplet size at different application rates, will be present on most aircraft. Regarding professional training, there has also been an increase in the search for professional development, aiming for a more qualified workforce in the area of ​​aerial application technology. Aiming to absorb these new technologies, the Ministry of Aeronautics recently developed a new curriculum for agricultural pilot training courses, where topics related to environmental legislation, products and application techniques and environmental care were inserted and/or improved.

From the point of view of society, we will also have a change of paradigms, with the greater exposure of agricultural aviation, there will be greater clarification on the use of this technique, a different situation from what has been happening in some regions of the country, where many of the demands contrary to the use of these machines have been guided by arguments with an ideological rather than technical nature. With the expansion of new media tools increasingly present, it will be possible to monitor and verify aerial and terrestrial applications carried out adopting technical criteria.

The global growth prospects for Brazilian agriculture indicate that there will be an increasing need for professionals with technical knowledge, both in the application machines and in the phytosanitary products used, and the new generation of these products has been characterized by being increasingly concentrated, more technical, more selective, less aggressive, which will require the adoption of technologies that allow the full potential of these products to be explored, which will require more care in the application and compliance with good agricultural practices. Added to this, regulatory actions must be more participatory, less imposing and there will be an integration of legal improvements in the use of these technologies.

AGRICULTURAL AVIATION IN AGRIBUSINESS

Agricultural aviation has increasingly been consolidated with the growth in agribusiness. Agricultural aviation in recent years has increased its participation and importance in the development of the production and productivity of various crops, especially in soybean, corn, sugar cane, cotton, rice, citrus and forestry crops, representing important and strategies developed in Brazil.

The growth not only of the fleet, but of the search for operational quality in the adoption of good agricultural practices, has been a constant among operators, who have sought information about techniques and equipment and the adoption of systems that allow better quality in application. An example of this, the Sustainable Aeroagricultural Certification Program (Program–CAS), developed in partnership with three universities, involving renowned professors/researchers on the national scene in the area of ​​application technology, with the support of various bodies (industry, class representations , producers), has been favorably accepted by users who seek quality and sustainability in their productions, with the aim of increasing environmental responsibility in applications by controlling the factors that lead to effective and safe spraying of pesticides.

This can be observed in the sugarcane segment, an important strategic area in the energy matrix, extremely competitive, in which quality, efficiency, cost reduction and environmental preservation are sought in different production processes, which has required companies to Service providers adopt good agricultural practices when applying products in their areas, reflecting the credibility attributed to program participants.

The CAS program basically has three support pillars: 1) information management; 2) the continuous and punctual verification of meteorological conditions throughout the spraying/application process and 3) the adoption and implementation of drift reduction techniques (TRD). In it, companies and aircraft participating in the program receive periodic inspections for compliance with these actions and are identified with a seal.

In 2020, two areas of agricultural aviation activity stood out and were widely publicized in the media. One was the effective use of aircraft to combat forest fires in different locations across the country, mainly in the Central-West regions, in large biological reserves and in urban areas, contributing to the ground brigades in a participatory and effective way. This projection allowed many who were unaware of the actions and scope of action of agricultural aviation to have a better idea about this activity.  

Another highlight was the use of aircraft in some South American countries, mainly in Argentina and in some regions of Brazil (MT and RS), to control the locust plague, which occurred with great intensity in 2020. The grasshopper is characterized by being an extremely destructive pest of crops, highlighting its ability to consume the equivalent of its own weight/day, causing considerable damage to crops.

Related to vector control, in some countries, such as the USA, it is common for states and city halls to hire agricultural aviation companies to frequently carry out controlled applications over cities, a practice that contributes to the reduction of diseases (without contamination). However, although there are already biological products available with high control efficiency and low-impact chemical products, similar to those used in routine ground spraying in large centers, there is still a barrier that has prevented these operations from being developed in Brazil.

Agricultural aviation is governed by very strict standards at federal, state and municipal levels. Among these standards, the Mapa/Anac regulations stand out. These bodies constantly carry out inspections of reports, aircraft, operations and determine that the data, in addition to being stored in companies for the purpose of checking and periodic inspection, must be sent as part of the activity report under the responsibility of professional engineers and technicians who performed the operations.

The agricultural aviation company, in its organizational chart, is made up of an agronomist (technical manager of the company, called agricultural aviation coordinator); by an agricultural technician trained as an executor in agricultural aviation and who monitors operations in the field, providing “support to pilots on what is happening in the depots” (by law, for each aircraft in operation there must always be a technician in the area ); the agricultural pilot (the professional pilot must have a specialization course for aeroagricultural operations), and the administrative employees. For this qualification, courses are offered for agricultural coordinators, executors and pilots, which are carried out under the delegation of competence and supervision/inspection issued by Mapa and Anac, focusing on the management of companies and operations, knowledge and care with phytosanitary products , equipment, good agricultural practices, the environment and specific agricultural, aeronautical and environmental legislation.

In the economic aspect, work and results obtained by different researchers related to the use of agricultural aircraft highlight speed, efficiency, quality of spraying, non-compaction of the soil and crushing of crops caused by ground equipment. In terrestrial application, loss rates vary between 2% and 5%, depending on soil conditions, crop development, type of terrestrial equipment used, type of wheelset, distance of application machines, operational availability of work output x moment of application and transmission of pests and diseases (contact of the machine in the plant, transferring from one point to another in the crop). These factors make aerial application extremely competitive, with reduced costs, providing increased profitability for the producer.

Box - Agricultural aviation challenges

In this context of forecasts of the need to increase production and productivity, in the supply of the human and animal food chain, the perspectives of a technological, economical and sustainable agriculture will be the focus to be achieved, and the challenges will require determination and commitment to environmental preservation, scenario where agricultural aviation has been consolidated.

• It is more than proven that agricultural aviation is an important tool in agricultural production, with safe and efficient applications.

• We still have challenges to face, including the need to reduce administrative bureaucracy.

• Reduce shadowing of legislation at the federal, state and municipal levels.

• Need for greater appreciation of the services provided.

• Disclosure to producers and society in general about the benefits of agricultural aviation, highlighting that the activity is an ally of production and the environment.

• Expansion and strengthening of the professional training of the technicians involved and the provision and transfer of dual command aircraft and/or simulators to pilot training schools.

• Creation of tax incentives for agricultural aviation activities, reduction of tax burdens on aircraft and equipment.

• Greater interaction between manufacturers, technical assistance to the agricultural aviation community – businesspeople, pilots and technicians.

• Improvement in product leaflets involving aerial application.

• Recognition of the use of aviation in Brazil for vector control in public health and the release of the use of biodegradable retardants to combat forest fires.

Wellington Pereira Alencar de Carvalho, Ufla

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