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For a long time, drones were almost exclusively used by countries in matters of public safety. However, they are now being bought by and used for a diverse range of reasons across the African continent.

In French-speaking Africa, the governments of Morocco, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Madagascar have decided to prohibit the use of these flying machines by the general public and reserve them for their own security services and administrations.

Used in agriculture, essential for infrastructure maintenance and capable of saving lives, civilian drones are still far from being accessible to everyone. This does not prevent the industry from continuing the development begun three years ago, even if it is primarily focused on safety and security issues which normally fall under the responsibility of a country’s government.

A sign of this is the fact that the French company Delta Drone, a major player in the sector listed on Euronext, has decided to set up its profit centre in Morocco. An African foray in which EM Digital, controlled by Mahdi el-Majidi, brother of Mohammed VI’s private secretary and manager of the sovereign’s private assets, acquired a 49% stake in its capital.

Surveillance patrols and topographical data

The Lyon-based group led by Christian Viguié has specialised over time and through its acquisitions, in services related to the safety and security of industrial facilities. It employs around forty people in Africa.

Its clients include mining groups such as OCP, Glencore, Anglo-American, AngloGold Ashanti, Exxaro, South 32, Newmont and Rössing Uranium; public bodies like ECOWAS; and several telecom players. It generates 14% of its turnover on the continent, about €2.2m.

This group, created in 2011, achieves this mainly through two services, called ISS Spotter and Rocketmine. The first uses autonomous machines programmed to carry out deterrent rounds, control access and remotely check the status of an incident. It comes with a video surveillance system that can be used for the exterior of commercial premises.

By Quentin Velluet

Technology Services

Lesedi Africa Foundation is expanding

Lesedi Africa Foundation is an organization that seeks expansion to gain access into education worldwide, looking to partner a high-school / college education project that reinforced several advantages of using drones for agriculture and in technology research. The service includes computer technologies including CODING.

Using STEM (science, technology, electronics and math) project taught youth at a high school / college on how to operate agricultural / technology drones to improve ranching and research operations.

High-school / college students who are given the opportunity to learn to operate drones as part of their education are still considered rare – and lucky.

Teaching students how to operate drones is a win-win: Access to drones can help bridge gaps in technology while improving yields and eliminating inefficiencies within the agricultural sector.

In the case of the high-school / college project, Lesedi Africa Foundation has partnered with Inspire Africa to make this dream come true. “We are providing technology access to students that will both improve ranching operations and address the lack of resources often available in rural schools,” Hilton Appollis CEO Lesedi Africa Foundation.

As drone technology continues to scale up worldwide, in sectors from agriculture to insurance to telecommunications, jobs in the field are growing. Projects akin to the one thatLesedi Africa Foundation supported, have the potential to teach students cutting-edge skills that can support them in pursuing careers in drone technology.

Drones can be a net positive for the environment

Drones can also be used to prevent several types of environmental disasters. The “eyes in the sky” view that drones provide can spot risks that humans may not see; one example is ranchers’ use of drones to monitor and detect any health issues affecting livestock.

Thanks to drones, farmers can now more efficiently conduct experiments to improve their products — for example, students involved with the Apollo Drone Innovations project used drones to test conditions to determine the healthiest options for crops or livestock.

Drones are also touted as a “green” technology tool because they can help monitor wildlife, inspect solar installations and hydropower projects, and detect sudden changes in climate data. The use of drones can also help farmers grow crops more sustainably, because instead of using tractors and quad bikes that require fossil fuels, farmers can rely on drones to pinpoint where pests are problematic or what areas of a field need more nitrates, allowing for more effective use of resources and preventing the overuse of fertilizers or pesticides.

Watch for drones to become more important to farmers and ranchers as new uses can help revolutionize the world of agriculture – one farm at a time