While some have called drones one of the best innovations for agriculture from the past decade, others in the industry have held onto skepticism about their value in the fields. The growth and adoption of data management technologies suggest that drone use will grow and that more and more farmers will use them.
Recent findings from Transparency Market Research align with that perception. In fact, their research points to agricultural drones growing in valuation to $1,932,600,000 by 2026 — “exponential” growth, in their words.
“Venture funding has already started picking pace in the field of agriculture technologies and big investors are becoming more willing to invest in start-ups with new solutions for precision farming,” Transparency Market Research said.
The company noted that fixed-wing drones are used widely, followed by multi-rotor drones. However, there’s little projected growth in hybrid drones, used mostly on large farms in the United States, in the next two or three years. Part of this could be education-related, as many farmers are only now understanding how to use drones effectively and how to operate the machines.
“Unless farmers start completely acknowledging the vast capabilities and benefits of drones, hybrid drone are likely to find limited use in precision agriculture,” Transparency Market Research said.
In the big picture, manufacturers are driving education and innovation, as they are continuously innovating agri-drones in terms of the functionality to stay ahead of the intensifying competition.
