Precision agriculture in seedling production
Dritan Sula’s vegetable seedlings farm
Description
Dritan Sula is a vegetable seedlings producer in Gorican in the Berat district of central rural Albania who launched a small-scale agribusiness in 1994, and who, for the first 9 years, used primarily traditional technologies to produce seedlings, carrying out most processes by hand. In 2003, he decided to invest in his business, increasing the growing area of his greenhouse to 3000 m2 and installing a system for the automatic control of temperature and humidity. After noticing a lack of uniformity in the quality of his seedlings associated with the imprecise manual operations, especially during irrigation, spraying and plant feeding, he made further investments in 2016 to introduce precision agriculture to his business, setting up automated and remote control for spraying and irrigation operations.
Technology
Sula invested in the mechanization of his sowing operations, and installed an automated temperature and humidity control system, as well as an irrigation and spraying system. Temperature and humidity control is provided by a central heating system, with hot water passing through a network of plastic pipes running underground throughout the greenhouse. The irrigation and spraying system can deliver water, as well as a mix of feeding solutions or pesticides, and can be programmed remotely to spray at certain times and/or in selected parts of the greenhouse as required. A new and innovative feature of the digital control system can close the greenhouse windows automatically when the outside wind speed passes a certain threshold to prevent storm damage. The systems were purchased from Italian and Greek companies.
Target
Dritan Sula is a vegetable seedlings producer in Gorican in the Berat district of rural central Albania, where the landscape is dominated by greenhouses. He launched his small-scale agribusiness in 1994 with 2000 square metres of greenhouses, and made further investments in 2003 to increase the growing area to 3000 square metres. The farmer used the extra space as a demonstration plot for visiting farmers. In the absence of any suitable precision agriculture technology available in his own country, Sula embarked on study tours sponsored by the Albanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to Bulgaria, Hungary, the Netherlands and Serbia. He also undertook his own market research, taking him to several agricultural fairs in Hungary, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands, before selecting the technology for his investment.
Business model
He purchased the automated temperature and humidity control system from a Greek company in Thessaloniki, while the seed sowing machine and automated spraying systems were purchased from an Italian company. While there is a lack of information on the cost of the solutions, Sula’s transition to an automated led to a substantial reduction in the workforce, from 28 employees in 2003 to seven in 2021, resulting in significant savings in wages.
Impact
Prior to his investments in precision agriculture, the internal temperature of the greenhouses was checked by thermometer and regulated manually using a diesel -powered central heating system, and staff would simply open the windows to increase ventilation. Watering and pesticide applications were also done by hand. With the introduction of innovative technologies, the owner significantly reduced his manpower needs, and improved the production and quality of seedlings, achieving significant efficiencies. Most of the remaining staff are women, whose working conditions have been improved with the introduction the new technologies. Their duties are now less onerous and their contact with chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides has been vastly reduced. The investments have been validated by the market in terms of increased sales resulting from the improvements in quality, and by other farmers who have introduced precision agriculture technologies to their own operations after witnessing the successful results achieved by Sula.
Four Betters
Better production
