Specialists in the field of precision agriculture will be prepared at the beginning of the educational year at the National University of bioresources and nature management. It will be possible within the master degree “Agrochemical service in the precision agriculture”, involving the experience of AgriLab company and its educational project Agristart.

«The problem of acute shortage of personnel wich able ensures the process of qualitative introduction of innovations and digitalization of Ukrainian ag sector, has long existed, – noticed Iaroslav Boiko project initiator. It can be solved with common efforts of agribusiness and educational institutions. Last year, AgriLab with the National University of bioresources and nature management presented the educational project Agristart, which opened for students access to cutting-edge technologies and familiarized with the practice of effective management resources. Taking into account student’s interest and acute need of employers, the university decided to deepen collaboration and develop the new master’s  program on the basis of the educational project, whose graduates will be able confidently to introduce the technologies of precision and digital agriculture in Ukraine.”

With new master curriculum, the students will learn to use modern technologies and tools for increasing the effectiveness of crop production. In particular, they will able to maintain and use software, sensors network and sensor technologies for analysis and monitoring of soil properties and field features, modern technical equipment, and GIS-technologies for agrochemical service. A big attention will be paid to deepen the economic analysis of the effective use of different tools or elements of precision agriculture, which allows ensuring yield with optimal use of resources and high profitable level. The students are waiting for interesting projects and practice in the leading farms, where they will use at work cutting-edge agrochemical analysis and digit maps for exploring soils, interpret data collected on field by different cameras and  sensors – from UAVs to meteorological stations, to plan technological operations and remotely control the quality of work with help of modern software.

As noticed professor Anatoliy Bykin, Head of the Department of Agrochemistry and Plant Production Quality at National University of bioresources and nature management, creating of master’s curriculum – it’s just first step, because demand for the qualitative specialists on agrochemical service and precision agriculture is already exceeding offer, and in course of time – will increase even more :

“Agrarian sector is a base of national economic of Ukraine ans the main consumer of personnel in the labor market. The competitiveness of domestic agricultural enterprises is determined by the international market through the innovation of agrotechnologies, the basis of which is the introduction of modern agrochemical solutions. Such technologies can be realized by experts in the field of agrichemical service of precision agriculture.”