Firm putting drones to work on farms
After the technician’s countdown, “moi, pi, bai”, an AS-III fixed-wing drone launches off a catapult into the air, ascending rapidly at 25 metres per second until it is high above the Cambodian countryside. The drone, equipped with a special camera capable of detecting what the human eye cannot see, surveys the crops below, assessing the health of vegetation while charting the precise layout of the terrain. Operated by the local firm SM Waypoint, the drone can soar at an altitude of 3,000 metres and has a range of 180 kilometres, during which it takes photographs to find areas of low crop yield or make accurate measurements of topography. However, despite Cambodia’s large agricultural sector, few farmers are even aware of the technology, let alone using it, according to Jimmy Jacks, the company’s managing director.
