OREANDA-NEWS An unmanned aviation center for training specialists in the management of agro-industrial drones, as well as for solving problems of the agro-industrial sector with the help of UAVs, will be created in the Saratov region, the press service of the NTI platform told RIA Novosti.

"An unmanned aviation center will be created in the Saratov region to train specialists in the management of agro-industrial drones, as well as to solve problems of the agro-industrial sector with the help of UAVs. The proposal was submitted to the forum "Strong ideas for a new time," the message says.

According to the project leader Oleg Yemelyanov, the Saratov region is among the top 5 regions of Russia in terms of the size of acreage. At the same time, a significant part of the crop is lost annually due to weeds and pests, as well as due to untimely and poor-quality application of plant protection products and micro-fertilizers. According to him, large rates of pesticide application have an extremely negative effect on the soil, while agro-robots use the technology of ultra-low-volume application. According to the author of the project, the launch of such a center will reduce the outflow of young specialists from the region by mastering a sought-after and innovative profession. People with disabilities, including wheelchair users and military personnel who have been injured, will also be able to get a promising profession and learn how to manage agricultural vehicles. According to the author of the idea, it may take up to 12 million rubles to create the center.

"Agriculture is one of the most promising areas for the use of drones, so the issue of personnel training is acute here. People with disabilities can control an agricultural drone, and for them this is an opportunity to master a sought–after profession," said Yemelyanov.