JAKARTA – PT Teladan Prima Agro Tbk (TLDN) held a Fixed Wing VTOL M-240 drone and multirotor drone training and test flight at Feliza Estate, one of the company’s plantations in Kutai Kartanegara Regency, East Kalimantan, on December 8-10, 2022. This activity is one of TLDN’s efforts to strengthen precision agriculture in optimizing plantation productivity and resource monitoring.
A total of 21 participants from TLDN, ranging from Assistant Plantation level to Senior Assistant Plantation level, participated in the training and test flight for the Fixed Wing VTOL M-240 drone and multirotor drone. The training was carried out in collaboration with GEOMAC Perkasa, a company that provides drone mapping training services, including operational drone introduction, basic photogrammetry, and data processing.
Sali Subakti, Head of the Precision Agriculture Section at TLDN, stated that this training is expected to improve employees’ competencies in using the Fixed Wing VTOL M-240 and multirotor drones, making them more effective in detecting, monitoring, and analyzing plant conditions. These tools can monitor the conditions/management of plants, soil, and water in TLDN’s productivity-related operational areas.
Furthermore, Sali explained that the Fixed Wing VTOL M-240 and multirotor drones would complement and confirm the data obtained from satellite and ground data monitoring. All monitored data will be integrated into the Teladan Productivity Technology Science (TPTS) dashboard. With this, TLDN management can make more accurate decisions.
“The standard block area is around 30 hectares (ha), and satellite monitoring is only for detection purposes. We can monitor and confirm satellite data with the Fixed Wing VTOL M-240 drone and multirotor drone. It will also support the plant recovery program in each block, which will be periodically monitored in 2023. So we can identify areas that require appropriate and efficient inputs. For example, in terms of plant nutrient balance, if there is a block of plants experiencing nutrient deficiencies, we can more accurately provide fertilizer treatment according to the 4T principle (right place, right dose, right time, and right way),” said Sali.
In the future, Sali emphasized that by using the Fixed Wing VTOL M-240 drone integrated with satellite and ground data, the company can periodically confirm the health conditions of plants, soil, and water balance to support optimal and efficient plant productivity. Thus, the data on the TPTS dashboard has a high level of accuracy and realism.
