How Agri-Drones Shield Russia’s Farms from Nature’s Extremes
High-tech drones and robotic systems are transforming Russian agriculture, cutting human labor and boosting efficiency across fields and farms.
In a podcast for “Gubernia”, Fyodor Grakov, director of the Institute of Agroengineering at South Ural State Agrarian University, highlighted how digital transformation has taken root in Russian agribusiness. He noted that livestock farming has advanced the most, with robots now handling milking, feed distribution, and waste removal—tasks once seen as futuristic but now part of everyday operations.
Crop farming is also seeing rapid automation, with agri-drones leading the change. These unmanned systems monitor fields from above, assessing yields, crop ripeness, and weed density. They also conduct precise treatment against pests and weeds.
One key advantage of drones is that they avoid direct contact with soil. Heavy machinery compacts the ground, accelerating erosion and land degradation—a pressing issue in southern Chelyabinsk and other regions bordering Kazakhstan, where desertification is taking hold. By reducing soil pressure, drones help preserve land fertility.
Experts argue that modernizing agriculture is now central to Russia’s food security, pushing the country’s agribusiness to a new level of resilience and productivity.
