In Côte d'Ivoire, where agriculture accounts for 20 percent of GDP, the sector is gradually modernising and adopting new technologies to improve efficiency - notably drones, used in the application of pesticides.
In the small village of Sokrogbo, in the south of Côte d'Ivoire, locals never tire of a particular sight: the take-off of the T-10 drone, a 25 kilogram machine capable of spraying up to 4.8 litres of pesticides per minute.
"I don't stand too close to the drone, I move a little further away," Amoin Koffi, an agronomist and drone pilot, told RFI. "And then, anyone who wants to watch stands behind me. They are curious, they want to know. They call it a 'little plane'," she explains, in front of a crowd of curious children.
This drone was provided by Investiv, a young Ivorian company specialising in drone use and precision agriculture. Operational since November 2023, it provides phytosanitary products and rents out its drone services to planters.
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Drone spraying
Banouri Coulibaly grows oil palm on a shared 25-hectare plot. At 60 years old, he has spent his life using backpack sprayers but was won over by this new technology - faster and more efficient than manual spraying.
"When I heard about it, I wanted to try drone spraying to see if it was really better. And indeed, it's more efficient. I immediately realised that it would improve my productivity," Coulibaly said.
"Since it sprays from above, it can reach the tops of the palm trees, which we can't do from the ground. Where the drone has passed, the leaves are greener, and the bunches of palm nuts are heavier."
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Drone spraying is also often more economical. At this centre, it costs 10,000 CFA francs (€15) per hectare, whereas manual labour for spraying costs between 20,000 and 30,000 CFA francs (€30-40) for the same area.
'In no time, the work is done'
Despite this traditionally conservative environment, farmers have quickly been convinced, notes Hervé Jean-Luc Kouakou Koffi, a cocoa, palm nut, and vegetable producer.
"Things are changing day by day. Agriculture has moved from an archaic phase to a mechanical phase. We, the youth of today, at my age of 34, just follow what will be easier for us," he said. "There's the time factor: with the drone, in no time, the work is done. There's also health; working with the drone is the best way to stay healthy."
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Spraying is just one use for drones in agriculture. Investiv also offers aerial photography services, topographic surveys and data collection.
"We've evolved along with drone technology," explains its founder, Aboubacar Karim. "When we started aerial spraying activities, we used a 10-litre drone that required 80 batteries a day. Today, we use a 50-litre drone with six batteries. The drones are bigger, and logistics are less cumbersome. Drone technology is evolving extremely fast."
▶ This report was produced by Marine Jeannin for the RFI podcast Reportage Afrique.
