Russia Launches Drone-Sharing Service for Farmers

A new platform developed by university students allows small and mid-sized farms to access precision agriculture tools without the high costs of owning their own drones.

Students from Kazan State Agrarian University have created and launched ErgoBot, Russia’s first drone-sharing service for agriculture. The platform is designed to make advanced precision farming technologies accessible to small and medium-sized farms that often cannot afford expensive equipment, according to the outlet Pervyj Tekhnicheskiy.

The service operates through a dedicated mobile app. Farmers can remotely select the type of drone needed for specific tasks—whether spraying crops with protective treatments, monitoring field conditions, estimating yields, or creating detailed maps. Equipment can be booked for the required time with or without an operator, providing flexibility and cost savings.

According to the developers, the key advantage of the service is the democratization of advanced technology. Instead of making large, one-time investments in purchasing and maintaining their own drones, farmers can access expensive equipment only when needed, paying solely for the time of actual use.

Such solutions boost the efficiency and competitiveness of Russian agriculture by enabling even small farms to adopt resource-saving technologies and increase yields.

The Kazan students’ project has already received university support and is ready for pilot testing on farms in the Republic of Tatarstan.