Agri Drone Pilot

JOB DESCRIPTION
Farm Supervisor / Agricultural Drone Operator
Department: Farm Operations
Reports To: Farm Manager / Production Manager
Location: Farm Site
Employment Type: Full-Time
1. Job Purpose
The Farm Supervisor / Agricultural Drone Operator is responsible for supervising day-to-day field operations and operating agricultural drones for crop spraying, monitoring and other approved farm activities.
The employee will ensure that farm activities are completed according to management instructions, on schedule and to the required quality standards, while maintaining accurate records of labour, crop activities, pesticide applications and drone operations.
2. Farm Supervision Responsibilities

• Supervise daily farm workers and ensure proper allocation of labour.
• Conduct morning briefings and clearly assign work to workers and team leaders.
• Ensure workers report on time and remain productive throughout working hours.
• Monitor the quality and quantity of work completed by each team.
• Maintain accurate daily attendance and labour records.
• Ensure all farm activities are carried out according to the instructions and schedules provided by management.
• Regularly inspect crops and report abnormalities including pests, diseases, nutrient deficiencies, poor plant growth and mortality.
• Monitor harvesting teams to ensure correct maturity, size, quality and handling of produce.
• Minimize crop damage and wastage during field operations and harvesting.
• Ensure harvested produce is handled carefully and transferred promptly to the designated collection or packhouse area.
• Maintain discipline among farm workers and immediately report misconduct, absenteeism, theft or deliberate damage to company property.
• Ensure farm tools and equipment issued to workers are properly used, accounted for and returned.
• Monitor assigned farm blocks and provide management with regular updates on crop condition and work progress.

3. Agricultural Drone Operations

• Safely operate agricultural drones for pesticide, fungicide, insecticide, foliar fertilizer and other approved applications.
• Conduct pre-flight inspections of the drone, batteries, propellers, pumps, nozzles, hoses and spraying system.
• Survey fields and identify obstacles, power lines, trees, buildings, workers and other potential flight hazards before operation.
• Prepare or verify flight boundaries and spraying routes before starting an application.
• Set appropriate flight height, speed, spray width, flow rate and application rate according to management instructions and crop requirements.
• Ensure correct and uniform coverage of the target crop.
• Monitor weather conditions, particularly wind, rainfall and visibility, before and during spraying.
• Prevent spray drift onto neighbouring fields, workers, houses, waterways, livestock or non-target crops.
• Maintain required buffer zones and observe all applicable safety requirements.
• Stop drone operations immediately where weather or field conditions make spraying unsafe.
• Properly clean the drone, spray tank, pumps, hoses and nozzles after applications.
• Carry out routine maintenance and immediately report faults, crashes, abnormal operation or damaged components.
• Properly manage charging, storage and handling of drone batteries.
• Maintain accurate records of drone flights and applications.

4. Chemical Handling & Spray Management

• Confirm the correct chemical/product, dosage and application instructions before spraying.
• Ensure chemicals are measured and mixed accurately according to authorized instructions.
• Never change pesticide dosage, mixture or application rate without authorization.
• Ensure workers involved in chemical preparation and spraying use the required PPE.
• Prevent contamination of water sources, people, animals, harvested produce and non-target areas.
• Ensure chemical containers and remaining spray solution are handled and disposed of according to farm procedures.
• Observe required re-entry intervals (REI) and pre-harvest intervals (PHI).
• Immediately report chemical spills, accidental exposure or suspected crop damage.

5. Records & Reporting
Maintain accurate daily records including:

• Worker attendance and labour allocation
• Activities completed by field/block
• Area planted, weeded, sprayed, fertilized or harvested
• Crop condition and problems observed
• Pest and disease observations
• Chemical/product used
• Application dosage and total quantity used
• Area covered by drone
• Number and duration of drone flights
• Battery usage
• Weather conditions during spraying
• Drone faults, repairs and maintenance
• Harvest quantities where applicable

Submit a daily farm activity report to the Farm Manager or designated management representative.
Any serious crop, pest, disease, labour, security, equipment or drone problem must be reported immediately and should not be held until the end-of-day report.
6. Health, Safety & Security

• Enforce company health and safety procedures.
• Ensure appropriate PPE is used during spraying and other hazardous activities.
• Ensure workers remain outside drone operating and spraying zones.
• Never operate a drone under unsafe weather or operating conditions.
• Ensure chemicals, equipment and batteries are stored securely.
• Immediately report accidents, injuries, theft, fire, chemical spills or security incidents.
• Protect company crops, machinery, equipment, chemicals, fuel and other assets.

7. Performance Expectations
Performance will be assessed based on:

• Timely completion of assigned farm activities
• Labour productivity and discipline
• Quality of field operations
• Crop condition and timely identification of problems
• Accuracy and uniformity of drone spraying
• Chemical usage and control
• Reduction of avoidable crop and input wastage
• Drone safety and equipment care
• Accuracy of farm and spray records
• Timeliness and quality of reporting
• Compliance with management instructions and safety procedures

8. Qualifications & Experience

• Practical experience in commercial farming or agricultural operations.
• Experience supervising farm workers is preferred.
• Experience operating agricultural spraying drones is strongly preferred.
• Ability to understand pesticide labels, application rates and basic spray calculations.
• Basic knowledge of crop production, pests, diseases and fertilizer application.
• Ability to use smartphones, mapping applications and drone operating software.
• Ability to maintain clear written and digital records.
• Appropriate drone operator certification/licence where required by local regulations.

9. Skills & Personal Attributes
The employee should be:

• Responsible and disciplined
• Technically competent with agricultural drones
• Safety conscious
• Observant and able to identify field problems quickly
• Capable of managing and motivating farm workers
• Accurate with measurements and record keeping
• Able to follow instructions precisely
• Willing to work outdoors and extended hours when farm operations require
• Able to communicate problems to management promptly and clearly

10. General Responsibilities
The employee may be assigned other reasonable duties related to farm production, crop protection, drone operations, harvesting, farm equipment or general agricultural operations by management.
The employee is expected to safeguard company property, maintain confidentiality regarding farm operations and perform all duties in the best interests of the company.