“Innovating through Research” – it was the topic of the international conference, which was in Edinburgh (Great Britain). This event brought together the famouse scientifics, researchers and farmers from Scotland, Europe, the USA, Canada, and China. Ukraine was represented at the conference by experts from AgriLab – Vyacheslav Adamchuk, PhD of McGill University, and Oleksandr Gaidai, manager – analyst of AgriLab.

During the conference, the results of many studies and various innovative technologies were discussed: soil sensors, remote sensing technologies, irrigation etc.

Vyacheslav Adamchuk, an expert on precision agriculture, said: “Interesting developments in determining the quality, maturity, digital video of the state of plants, as well as the interaction between laser and ultra-digital sensors were presented. From a commercial point of view, attention is drawn to the issue of interaction between low-altitude remote monitoring systems (DRON) and satellite imagery. Active work on drones for chemicals is in progress. At this conference, experts from China introduced navigation systems for such drones, but, at the same time, logistical issues and their lifting weight are the problematic issues. Perspective direction of research is the new types of spectrometry – X-ray, decomposition under the action of the lasar. These technologies have achieved high accuracy in organic indices, but we still need to develop the ability to determine the physical and chemical characteristics.“

Summarizing the speeches of the conference participants, Alexander Gaidai, the analyst of AgriLab, noted: “The perspective direction of precision farming technologies – in the development of robotics for the harvesting of fruits, sensors for measuring different soil characteristics, development of technology for data exchangies. The leading institutes and companies in the world work on the software for agrarians. For example, at this conference, Microsoft introduced its software for diagnosing plant diseases. Ukrainian companies also keep up with the times and try to develop their software solutions. However, a real breakthrough will be made by the company, that will offer a comprehensive software product, that combines the economic, agronomic, and technological components of agribusiness. It is important to put together the efforts of scientists, farmers and companies, that provide services. By the way, in the UK, the government invests more than 400 million pounds in research and innovation annually.“