The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN FAO) is collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation and Labour as it facilitates the start of the Advanced Drone Training of Agriculture staff.

The initiative also marks the beginning of underwater drone training of Fisheries personnel.

In 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) initiated commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) operations and implemented a Drone Unit comprising pilots and geospatial analysts, pioneering advancements in agricultural and disaster risk management in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

To bolster this initiative, an ‘Advanced Drone High Accuracy Mapping, Geospatial Analysis, and Introduction to Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)’ training programme has been developed.

The training program aims to enhance the MOA’s capabilities in advanced mapping and monitoring for agricultural and coastal marine disaster risk management.

The programme will equip participants with skills in planning and conducting high-accuracy RTK drone surveys and agricultural multi-spectral mapping as well as introduce underwater ROVs and applications for coastal marine monitoring.

The advanced UAS-ROV training Project will be delivered over a six week period applying a blended style and comprises five full days per week (40 hours) of in-person instruction.

SOURCE: National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC Radio)