Agriculture and Forestry

Written By Kimmo Paajanen

Courtesy: Nordic Drones Ltd.

Why agriculture or forestry?

In Finland, forests cover 75% of the country (23 million hectares of forest area), 620,000 landowners.

Development area: Applying legislation and fostering cooperation among authorities to enhance efficiency (e.g., sprayer drones vs. tractors), data analytics, improving production outcomes, reducing environmental impact.

Key challenges: Northern weather conditions, short growing season, complexity of legislation.

Benefits

Unmanned aviation and drones can have significant benefits for agriculture and forestry for several reasons:

  • Efficiency: Drones can perform precise and fast tasks such as data collection and mapping.

  • Analytics: Data collected by drones can be processed through data analytics.

  • Improved production outcomes: Drones reduce the need for physically demanding and time-consuming tasks, allowing a focus on value-added activities.

  • Reduced environmental impact: Drones can help reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture by emitting fewer pollutants and exerting minimal mechanical stress on the environment.

The region of Northern Ostrobothnia is committed to supporting the green transition, building a carbon-neutral and ecologically sustainable society, and fostering sustainable competitiveness through its agricultural and forestry policies.

In the Northern Ostrobothnia Climate Roadmap, drones are seen as a valuable asset, particularly within the thematic areas of Agricultural Development as a Carbon Sink and Promoting Resource Efficiency in Agriculture.

The Regional Forest Program 2021-2025 provides comprehensive and sustainable guidelines for forest management, conservation, and utilisation in the region. The program emphasises promoting forest growth and carbon sequestration, actively and sustainably utilising the region's forests, products, and ecosystem services, and acquiring new knowledge and expertise, where drones play a valuable role.

More information

Arctic Drone Labs:
Kimmo Paajanen
+358 40 661 2871
firstname.lastname@oamk.fi 

Kimmo Paajanen
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