A young farmer is planning to use aerial technology to help boost crop production on her farm.
Shanion McPherson, a female farmer operating in the Water works area, has announced that she will soon deploy a drone to help manage her crops.
The drone, which is being procured from a company in Jamaica, will help with crop protection, irrigation, and spraying.
She says Montserrat is experiencing a labour shortage. “I decided that I cannot do all of this work on my own, being that there is a labour shortage here Montserrat, you can hardly find workers to help you. So, I decided to go and [apply] to the Montserrat Business Progressive Fund.”
McPherson has already completed her training on the use of the drone in Jamaica, including hands-on flight practice in-put application and safety and regulations. “So it can be used for watering, it can be used for spraying, it can be used to lift up loads, it can diagnose whatever is happening, whatever pest, disease in my farm and a few other things. We have that kind of drought right now, it can also help wet and instead of spraying for a whole three, four days, this could spray like in just half an hour.”
While the use of drones on farms is relatively new in Montserrat, the emerging technology avoids the need to put heavy machinery onto the ground, which can lead to problems such as soil compaction.
Some of the latest technology could be used to help farmers tackle one of their oldest problems.
According to the BCC, researchers at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, are using drones and AI to scan fields and identify weeds.
It says fighting weeds can be difficult and time consuming for farmers and it is hoped the new technology will save time.