1. Using UAV's for improved cashew nut production in Benin
Thierry Olatounde Yabbi Hermann,
Monitoring & Evaluation, Accountability and Learning – CRS Benin
Ognen Plavevski,
Architect for ICT4D Solutions – CRS Baltimore

2. Background
CRS Benin approached GKIM to help them in their project with the following requirements:
Assess if UAV methods are means of demarcating Cashew farms
Get a more accurate area mapping process
Get a more accurate area under good agricultural practices and techniques (weeding, pruning, thinning, crop association, etc.)
Assess if the aerial photo’s could be used to analyze density
Use these variables as a means to estimate yield / unit area and yield / farm
Appreciate the vegetative state (level of flowering, fruiting level, …) of trees

3. Background (continued)
GKIM approached Nethope and their newly formed UAV unit for assistance in the project
Nethope offered to have DanOffice come in country, and make use of their prototype Cumulus UAV in order to record the imagery
Dan Office IT would also bring in a DJI Phantom UAV
Action plan was to record the imagery, analyze the data, and provide the outputs to the Benin team

4. Background (continued)
Expectations were set in terms of the capability of the UAV to deliver the requirements or a subset of requirements
Proper government approvals from the government of Denmark (for the UAV’s to leave the country) and the government of Benin (to allow the UAV’s to come in to the country and fly) were obtained.

5. On site… Nethope + DanOfficeIT arrived on site
Farms that needed to be scanned were identified
Project team went on site to take imagery
Problems started…

6. Issues… Farms were not clearly identified before we began
When asked to provide coordinates of the location we would fly in, the coordinates for the capital of Benin was provided
This created additional issues that we did not know where we were flying
Flight plans had to be created on site
This caused additional problems…

7. Issues…
Internet not available on the ground, causing problems with mission planning software
Cumulus drone did not take sufficient overlap imagery, so images could not be stitched in order to provide a seamless image

8. Issues…
Imagery could not be uploaded from the internet connection in country
Images had to be uploaded from the US once the team got back in their offices
Farmers could not clearly identify their plots from the aerial imagery

9. Analysis Currently ongoing process
Identified a couple of vendors that provide AG imagery processing for the following items:
Crop / tree count
NDI levels
Crop stress
Water levels
Fertilizer levels

10. Analysis…
Simple observation – UAV imagery vs satellite:

11. Analysis – tree / crop count

12. Analysis – NDVI

13. Analysis…

14. Analysis…

15. Lessons learned Identify plots before going on ground
Plan flights before going in the field
Find good internet to upload imagery OR
Have Pix4D to analyze imagery on the ground
Work with farmers to identify plot sizes
Print farms on paper and have them draw on top of the maps

16. Processing the imagery
Currently ongoing process
Identifying vendors that are able to provide processing algorithms
Not all things can be automated and provide automatic output (weeding, prunning, etc)
Some items can be observed from the imagery it self as resolution is very good

17. Return of Investment (RoI)
20-25% savings in nitrogen
146% ROI
Vendor charge for one UAV flight (50 Hectares using DJI Phantom)
$50,000
Cost of DJI Phantom 4:
$1,500 (includes bells and whistles)
Cost of multispectral camera:
$3,500

18. Cost associated Upfront investment in UAV
Cost can be between $800 - $30,000 depending on model
Advanced sensors (multispectral, infrared)
Multispectral ($3500)
Image analysis software
Can cost between $1 per hectare or
$140 monthly OR (pix4D montly license)
$2900 (pix4D perpetual license)

19. Next steps Finding the right software to perform the analysis needed
Pre-deployment instructions
Obtaining coordinates of locations
Internet capability on site
Legislative issues
Setting expectations

20. Questions?