Aviation technology subsidiary of Kenya Airways, Fahari Aviation, has expanded its agricultural services offering with 14 new high-capacity drones to meet growing demand for precision agriculture solutions.

The company estimates that the additional drones will increase capacity to cover larger areas, efficiently completing agricultural tasks of up to 300 ha a day, up from 70 ha a day.

This move enhances Fahari’s position as a market-leading drone technology provider for precision farming, as demand for input aerial surveillance, crop monitoring, crop health surveillance and land inspection booms.

The additional drones will also offer Fahari’s customers a range of functionalities, such as spraying, spreading, seeding and data collection on crop health and soil conditions.

By integrating multispectral drones, precise variable spraying and spreading operations can be conducted, based on farmland prescription maps.

Fahari GM Hawkins Musili says this technology is ideal for activities such as fertilising, nutrient solutions spraying and afforestation through the seeding of small seedballs.

He believes the adoption of precision farming through drone technology allows the company to serve the evolving needs of farmers and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

The global agriculture drone market is expected to grow by about 20% a year from 2023 to 2030, from $4.98-billion to $18.22-billion, according to Fortune Business Insights.

Fahari’s activities feed into Kenya Airways’ strategy of contributing to the sustainable development of Africa, particularly through unmanned aircraft, and spearheading the effective application of future aviation technologies.

Since its inception in 2020, Fahari has made high-impact partnerships with various companies such as Kenya-based tea and coffee producer Sasini and other companies in the tea industry for spreading in tea farms, horticulture farmer DWA Vipingo for sisal spraying, and surveillance for several flower farms in Naivasha and the Mount Kenya region.

Musili concludes the use of drones in agriculture has proven time and time again it can reduce resource wastage, increase yields and improve farm management.