A draft law introduces drones as a means of plant protection – Agro Plovdiv

2023-06-01 15:06:06

Bill to amend and add to of the Law for plant protection introduces the possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicles – dronesto carry out plant protection.

The project was submitted today to the National Assembly’s registry by a group of deputies from GERB-SDS.

Although the raising of drones for treatment with plant protection products has been used by farmers in our country for years, this practice has not been legally established.

The possibility of including the drones in the farmers’ technical park is in the new art. 110a and 110b in the Plant Protection Act.

They state that “plant protection products may be applied by drone where the drone operator meets the registration requirement under the Civil Aviation Act, if any. The drone being used must meet the requirements of the same law. The operator who will carry out the treatment must have a certificate under Art. 83 of the Plant Protection Act, in case the plant protection preparations used are of a professional category of use.

The additions to the law set the requirement that the areas to be treated with a drone should not fall into sanitary and security zones around different types of water sources and should not be close to residential areas, parks and gardens, and sports facilities.

In Art. 110b states that all products that are permitted for ground application can be used with a drone.

In the reasons for the bill, it is written that the drone treatment uses extremely precise technology that meets the EU’s green goals. Drones spray at a very low height (1.5-2 meters) unlike airplanes and helicopters used for plant protection. This reduces the drift of the pesticide spray and leads to savings in the products used. Only parts of the area affected by pests can be treated with a drone.

In orchards, the drone sprays as much as possible all parts of the crown of the trees.

Last but not least, drones protect their operators from the effects of pesticides and do not create harmful emissions in the atmosphere, the reasons for the bill state.