Terra Drone Corporation, one of the top drone service providers in the world, has started offering agricultural spraying services in Southeast Asia. The company has scooped up precision agriculture tech from Indonesian startup Avirtech and established a new entity called Terra Drone Agri to cater primarily to palm plantations.
The formation of Terra Drone Agri comes at a time when farmers around the world are readily adopting agricultural drones to gain scientific data that would help them reduce seeds, pesticides, and fertilizers without affecting crop yield. With drones, fieldwork can be completed much faster and with more precision, while leaving a much lower carbon footprint than what would have been with the use of heavy ground machinery.
Executing around 4,000 flights daily, Avirtech has helped palm oil-focused farmers and plantation companies minimize crop failures and reduce operating costs by up to 30%. Drones have also helped to address the issue of agricultural labor shortage in the region.
Overall, the company has contributed to the scientific cultivation of more than 200,000 hectares of land in Indonesia and Malaysia. So, by taking over the business of Avirtech, Terra Drone can immediately start catering to these two countries which account for around 80% of global palm oil production.
Toru Tokushige, founder and CEO at Terra Drone Corporation, says, “The integration of our expertise with Avirtech’s groundbreaking crop intelligence technologies opens doors to unprecedented opportunities for enhancing productivity, optimizing resource allocation, and promoting environmental sustainability in farming.”
Rendy Ferixsen, CEO at Avirtech, adds, “We are pleased to announce the sale of our business to Terra Drone. This strategic progression not only empowers us to redefine the potential of agricultural drone solutions but also reinforces our unswerving dedication to technological excellence.”