In Kamonyi District in Rwanda, the buzz of drones has become a familiar sound. Local start-up Ampere Vision Rwanda is seeking to pioneer agricultural drone services; its quadcopter hovers over the 130 hectares farmed by the Koubite cooperative, gently spraying fertilisers and pesticides onto the crops below.
The efficiency of drones is a game changer in an industry where time is money. “With the drone you can do 21 hectares in just one day,” says Muyombano Happy Axel, the company’s founder. “If you are going to use a boom stick, it’s going to take you three or four days.”
Ampere Vision Rwanda is at the start of its journey. It has recently received a grant of 15m Rwandan francs ($10,000) from non-profit Heifer International, as it seeks to expand its services to a wider range of cooperatives in Rwanda. The company is one of many in Africa that is seeking to make use of drone technology to transform how various industries operate.
Peaceful purposes
While “unmanned aerial vehicles” (UAVs) have recently been in the spotlight due to their role in conflicts around the world, drone technology is increasingly being used for peaceful purposes in Africa. As well as spraying crops, drones are monitoring energy installations, delivering medicines, cleaning buildings, conducting mineral exploration and carrying out high-resolution mapping.
