Tucumán has more than 600 drones in operation, and the Sociedad Rural has called for clear rules for their agricultural use, especially for applying agrochemicals, without bureaucracy holding back the tool. The province is analyzing its own regulation, looking to Córdoba, Corrientes and Santa Fe.
Drones are already part of the productive landscape of northern Argentina. In Tucumán, according to José Frías Silva, president of the Sociedad Rural, there are more than 600 units in operation, a technological expansion that poses a new challenge: establishing rules for their use in agricultural activities, especially in the application of agrochemicals, without state requirements ending up becoming an obstacle for producers.
“When we talk about regulations, we say that any interference from the State always comes to break something,” acknowledged the farm leader, who nonetheless believes there are reasons to sit down and discuss a regulation. “We are in a shared airspace, so you can't just fly anywhere for no reason. You have to be extremely careful,” he explained to Bichos de Campo during the International Drone Congress.
The advance of this technology into the agricultural sector requires clear rules, but it also raises questions about the limits of paperwork. “We should put them on a table and see how we can work on them to prevent accidents. Avoiding bureaucracy would be ideal, but these frameworks always require a little bit from both sides,” said Frías Silva, referring to the State and to users.
In Tucumán, he said, that discussion has already begun. Since the beginning of the year, work has been underway on the existing regulations for agricultural applications, with the intention of adapting them to the particularities of drones. Agencies linked to the activity are taking part in that process, and there are also talks with the provincial government. “There are institutions working conscientiously on the issue so that this turns out as well as possible, so that something productive doesn't end up being a problem, with barriers that later become unsustainable,” he noted.
With an eye on experiences such as those of Córdoba, Corrientes and Santa Fe, which have already moved forward in those discussions and begun working on their own regulations, Tucumán now seeks to develop regulatory tools tailored to its needs. The need to bring order to the activity also emerges in a province where drone applications find concrete possibilities in several regional economies.
Frías Silva particularly mentioned potato, strawberry and citrus crops, which add to traditional agriculture and livestock activities. “Tucumán has a great many highly intensive activities, such as potatoes or strawberries, citrus itself,” he explained. And he maintained that the drone “is something that has come to stay,” both for its economic possibilities and for its agronomic usefulness.
The leader, who in addition to agriculture and livestock has experience in dairy farming, believes that drones have already stopped being a novelty to become a work tool, but he acknowledges that the speed at which new uses appear generates some unease. “What's coming and how technology keeps advancing is impressive,” he assured, and he highlighted how the incorporation of artificial intelligence into these systems opens up even more possibilities.
“We have to work on regulation and be aware of the tool we have in our hands, which can be something very good or something very bad,” said Frías Silva, who stresses that much remains to be defined and that any regulation must be able to adapt to a technology that changes constantly.
