The agricultural drone market will see a jump from $494 million to $3.69 billion by the year 2022, according to a report from RnR Market Research. Factors pushing the increase are consumer demand for more transparency on how their food is produced and farmers using the benefits agricultural drones can bring to their operations.
“Transparency is one of the benefits…that drones bring to digital farming,” Susan Eustis, lead author of the RnR Market study, told AgWeb. “Transparency in farming is being asked for by consumers. Consumers want to know where their food came from, how much water and chemicals were used, and when and how the food was harvested. They want to know about consistent refrigeration during transport.”
Drones can also improve agricultural production by providing data for more efficient use of land, water and fertilizer.
“It is a totally different world than walking out of the farmland, kicking the dirt and making a decision based on intuition,” Eustis said.