Drone battle against locusts in Bitlis

The Tatvan District Governorship in Bitlis has purchased an agricultural drone for the District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry to be used in early and active combat against locusts.

As the use of drones in locust control becomes increasingly common, technological interventions achieve a hundred percent success rate compared to traditional methods. In the Tatvan district, spraying operations will be conducted using drones to combat potential locust invasions in agricultural production.

Personnel from the District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry received training for drone spraying operations aimed at protecting farmers’ crops from harmful field locusts in agricultural areas. The drone, which is 100% domestic and national, has a capacity of 40 liters and can spray an area of 35 hectares in 10 minutes. Faruk Teğmen, a company official who came to Bitlis for the delivery and training of the drone, stated that they provided a 3-day training for the personnel who will operate the drone. At the end of the training, Teğmen expressed that the personnel would be able to operate the drone easily, relieving farmers of a significant burden. He stated, “Under the ‘Drones of the Future’ project by DAP and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, we carried out training for the domestic and national drone allocated to the District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry by the Tatvan District Governorship. Our drone, produced in Konya, is completely domestic and national. These drones are the most popular among smart agricultural products for our farmers. The drone we provided training for has a 40-liter capacity. The Tatvan District Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry acquired this for locust control in this region. Currently, we are providing training for this as a company. These drones are used in agriculture all over Turkey,” he said.

Teğmen continued by discussing the significance of these drones:

“We observed the example of locust control using drones in Thrace. Two years ago, locusts invaded sunflower fields in Thrace. This battle was fought using unmanned aerial vehicles. Without this drone, combating locusts would not have been possible. The most important feature of unmanned aerial vehicles is their ability to intervene quickly and effectively in events. When pests invade crops, they can cause damage very rapidly. When harmful insects enter an area of 1,000 decares, it can only be combated with a holder in 3-4 days. However, it can be done within 5-6 hours with an unmanned aerial vehicle. When done with a holder, the harmful insect will have already ruined the product in 3-4 days. The Tatvan Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry has identified serious locust damage in agricultural areas, and this drone was acquired for that purpose. We can say that locusts will not harm our farmers’ crops in Tatvan from now on.”