Thabo Maseko

For years, agricultural drones in Africa were mostly pilots, demos and grant-funded showcases. A few dozen hectares here, a cooperative trial there, impressive videos, and then the question of whether it could ever pay for itself at real farm sizes. That phase is over in Kenya. Commercial Drone-as-a-Service (DaaS) operators are now routinely covering large commercial estates, serving farmer groups, and supporting national programmes at a scale measured in thousands of hectares per campaign...

The Van Reenen family's transformation of Kus tot Kruin demonstrates how off-grid renewable energy is becoming a strategic technology investment for modern agriculture. As South African agriculture accelerates its digital transformation, reliable energy has become far more than an operational necessity—it is the foundation upon which precision agriculture, irrigation systems, farm management platforms and connected technologies depend. For the Van Reenen family, owners of Kus tot Kruin, a...

For years, high-resolution satellite yield mapping and crop monitoring were largely reserved for large commercial operations that could absorb the high per-hectare costs. Mid-size farms — typically 50 to 500 hectares — were often priced out or forced to rely on less accurate, broader satellite imagery. That equation is changing fast. Newer entrants and aggressive pricing from established players have driven down costs significantly, making satellite-based yield estimation and field...