First drone fertiliser opens doorway to advance agriculture in PNG

A commercial pestilence agriculture drone launched at the Small to Medium Enterprise Breakfast by Prime Minister James Marape last week is the first of its kind brought into PNG.

The advanced agriculture drone which cost thirty- thousand- kina is owned by Christopher Tep, founder of Grow Hariap Fertiliser.

Speaking in an interview with NBC News, Mr. Tep says the drone is a demonstration that local SME owners in the country can increase production by improving the quality and volumes of their produces using this technology.

He says the equipment cuts down on labor intensive work and save costs.

"The drone is an agriculture spray drone, and it can be used for spraying organic liquid fertiliser and that's the product we have, it can be used for insecticide, it can be used for pesticide.

"The drone flies by aerial and the difference between the drone and the other spray equipment is that the spray equipment is labor intensive, very high cost and the tractors, you have to meet the cost of operating the tractor like the service and maintenance, the fuel cost, one of the big costs is the labor itself", Mr Tep said

He says requests have come from plantation owners to use the Grow Hariap Organic Liquid Fertiliser and the introduction of the drone is technologically compatible for spraying crops.

The first spray using the drone and the Grow Hariap Fertilizer will start this week.