Is this drone the solution to the staff shortage in the greenhouse horticulture sector?

The drone has been in development for some time and the first hour user, Mike Gitzels, has been flying it for three years. “In the past ten employees walked through the greenhouse for two weeks, now the drone flies around,” says Gitzels, who grows young potato plants in Wervershoof.

In the beginning, there was still regular contact between the drone company and Gitzels, because the drone was still in the development phase. The drone is now working well and the contact is no longer necessary. Now the drone is also presented to the rest of the ‘horticultural world’.

“We have just started and now have ten customers, a few of which are in North Holland but also abroad,” says Dechering. The drone, which can be controlled with an app, flies around the greenhouse independently and navigates on the basis of QR codes hanging on the wall. “When the drone is ready, you will receive a progress report in the mail.”

Gitzels uses this report to see how his young potato plants are growing. “Now that we can obtain data so easily, we are trying to link this to the further life cycle of the plant. We follow the plant from the moment we plant the seed. We hope to gain new insights with this.”