The government of the Philippines in
collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has started
using unmanned aerial drones to assess where farmlands are most at risk from
natural disasters and quickly assess damages after they strike, NaijaAgroNet
reports.
This, NaijaAgroNet also reports is in a bid to
stay ahead of the negative impacts of climate change, floods and typhoons on food security, especially in the Philippines.
In
addition, under a pilot phase of the still-fledgling project funded by the
Ministry of Agriculture of the Philippines and the FAO, two drones have already
been sent soaring over the Philippines provinces that have been affected by the
current El Niño.
NaijaAgroNet equally reports that some 25 FAO
and government technical experts are ready to be deployed across the
archipelago to support drone missions. They were recently trained over three
weeks on how to fly the drones and learned a range of remote aerial assessment
methods.
The drones, NaijaAgroNet reports, are equipped
with navigation and photogrammetric equipment that could generate detailed and
data rich maps from aerial photographs including Normalized Difference
Vegetation Index or NDVI, a formula used for assessing vegetation
and plant health.
Data gathered, NaijaAgroNet gathered, could be
used to see where agricultural systems are at particular risk from natural
disasters and identify ways through which such risks can be countered, for
example, through ground contouring, building retaining walls, or planting
protective vegetation.
Capable of covering up to 600 hectares a day,
the drones should significantly accelerate the process of risk analysis,
according to Christopher Morales, Director of Field Operations for the
Philippines Department of Agriculture.
"It is efficient, it saves time and we
will be using a reliable source of data so that we can plan and provide
appropriate interventions and responses for our farmers in times of disasters
and calamities," he said.
"Additionally, imagery generated from
drone flights can reveal where agricultural infrastructure projects and service
facilities like irrigation or storage facilities could be sited to best serve
local farmers. The technology can also potentially support in the assessment of
coastal and forest areas." said Jose Luiz Fernandez, FAO Representative in
the Philippines.
