By Greg Goodsell
Agricultural issues brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic have led to some creative solutions by Israeli date farmers. Faced with both a pressing need for farm laborers and bees, drones manufactured by Israeli and United States companies are now being used to pollinate crops.
Blue-White Robotics of Israel along with U.S. Company Dropcopter have risen to the challenge of manufacturing aerial drones to pollinate crops in the Jordan Valley and Arava. These drones are considered a significant improvement over the sometimes haphazard method of spreading pollen from fans carried on tractors.
This innovative technique has arrived at the right time, as border crossings have been banned on account of the pandemic. Farmers have faced a shortage of available farm labor in the region.
Recent flooding in the Jordan Valley has also hindered ground pollination efforts. Experiments carried out at the Arava Institute led to successful results, where the drones are able to store and dispense pollen from the air.
Also known as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs and Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems, or RPAS, drones have been used in military situations when manned flight is deemed too risky for surveillance. Many of these drones are present in international hotspots 24/7 to provide an “eye in the sky” for governments.
Drones have been increasingly used in civilian situations. Heat sensing drones are often used to find missing persons in isolated, rural settings. High-tech and long range drones have also been used in hurricane research, allows scientists to penetrate into the heart of storms to collect data without endangering human lives.
The decreasing cost in the production of light, and even more sophisticated drones in agricultural production “erases the need for guesswork in modern farming and instead gives farmers the ability to maximize their yields and run more efficient organizations, all while enhancing crop production,” Jeremy Jensen, of UAV Coach writes.
High-tech solutions to agricultural issues in Israel is a recent development, with over 50 agritech businesses popping up in the last five to ten years.
Most agree that the new automated method removes the sometimes hit-and-miss efforts involving hands-on farm labor.
“Growing dates from strains of Medjool require a lot of working hands and, despite all the technological solutions that we have today, the drones give us a solution that is not only faster and more efficient, but also more economical and accurate so that profits are not just doubled but tripled,” Ori Kooper, a grower from the Jordan Valley tells the Jerusalem Post.
