In a short time, the world population will reach almost 10.000 billion people and, consequently, the demand for all natural resources - especially food - will increase exponentially. How will the farmers of the future work to guarantee the feeding of all that population?

By 2050, planet Earth will have around 2.000 billion more people than today, according to projections by the United Nations (UN). Against this background, farmers will have to work hand in hand with new technologies to make the production of their crops more efficient in order to supply the growing demand for food.

In this context, the so-called precision agriculture is inserted, which consists of making an adequate use of resources - such as fertilizers and minerals - in crops; This task is achieved through tracing with digital technology that allows analyzing the soil to avoid erosion, pests or other types of damage.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LETICIA RAMÍREZ
Drone domain

To do this, Drone Domain, a totally Mexican company, aims to change the course of the field in Mexico by providing precision agriculture services through the use of drones that fly over the land to identify the points where more attention is required.

A woman in a "man's world"

Leticia Ramírez, founder of Drone Domain, studied political science, worked in the financial sector and at the United States Embassy in Mexico; But for more than three years he left his job to enter the world of precision agriculture, become certified as a drone pilot and start his own company.

“The reason that interested me so much was to realize that agriculture is everything. Agriculture is my breakfast, my lunch, and my dinner, and it will be breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my children, and for the children of all of us. We have to put the batteries because as there is already much talk, there is an exponential population growth and agriculture around the world has to put the batteries to supply all these people, all these people who are going to live in a few years ”, He comments in an interview.

Since 2017, he began to be interested in drones, because he was curious to know what that “mini helicopter that flies and does so many things in so many industries, from events to precision agriculture or rescue of people” was.

It was then that she attended the Ministry of Communications and Transport (SCT) to take the course with which she would obtain the RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft System) license that would certify her as a drone pilot. In this way, she would become not only one of the first women to pilot drones, but also to set up one of the first precision agriculture companies in Mexico.

PHOTO: COURTESY OF LETICIA RAMÍREZ
Leticia Ramírez and Drone Domain

On this issue, she says that the low presence of women in the field of technology —in this case in drone piloting— may be due to the fact that “Mexico is historically macho, I mean, I don't want to sound very controversial, but that's exactly what it has ruled us for many years ”.

"I think it is a very delicate subject, it is a subject that has many aspects, both in history and culture, as in tradition, as the desire to do things and also much that is believed or not given the opportunity, perhaps to more women to be interested in these issues, because in the end there are no restrictions ”, she explains.

In the same way, remember that in an environment such as agriculture, it has encountered various circumstances in which they have tried to omit it for the simple fact of being a woman, but consider that this will change sooner or later. Well, he says that he would like that in a few years he could “see more women in this [in precision agriculture], who are interested as well”.

“Sometimes it's scary, it's scary to get into this 'man's world', led by men. I would tell them not to be afraid, to ask questions, to investigate; In other words, there is always someone who has already done what you want to do or who is in it. So, in the end, men are not the enemy, we are a team, so yes, of course, historically men are more involved in technology issues; Well, then, do you teach me, we learn or what advice you give me, ”he says.

Drone domain: the Mexican company that seeks to change the agricultural future

Although precision agriculture has become a trend in other parts of the world, in Mexico it has recently started its journey. In this panorama, Drone Domain aims to become one of the companies that helps optimize the Mexican countryside to contribute to the challenges that are approaching: food coverage.

Ramírez explains that one of the objectives of precision agriculture —and therefore, of Drone Domain— “is to obtain more and better data through the use of technology and with this data make better decisions, and make the production process more efficient food. This action alone is helping to achieve better results in terms of yields, and by yield I mean production and quality ”.

But in addition, it seeks to reduce "soil contamination through the correct use of fertilizers and minerals, and that goes back to the issue of nutrition." To achieve these objectives, he comments that one of the nodal points of Dron Domain is to offer an integral service that goes from the identification of the problem, the analysis of the resources to provide the necessary products to nourish the soil.

“I would love for us to have a huge fleet of drones and pilots, and for us to be part of this technological revolution in the agricultural industry that Mexico so badly needs. I see ourselves as a company that is contributing and that is going to contribute more and more to the reduction of contamination in the soils, to the increase in the production of crops and, even more importantly, the increase in the quality of these crops ”, he says Ramírez on the future expectations of Drone Domain.