ZenaTech’s new drone aims to help the agricultural sector in Ireland close its widening labour gap through automation and technology.
Canadian technology company ZenaTech’s venture into the Irish agricultural market will create 30 new jobs here over the next year. The roles will be in design and development, technical support, as well as sales and marketing.
The company has its eye on the Irish agritech space with its latest product, a drone that can be used to monitor and treat crop plantations across large areas. The ZenaDrone 1000 is a two-metre drone with a high-definition camera, computer vision and automated sensor technologies.
Dr Shaun Passley founded ZenaTech in 2018, focusing on drone development, payment technology and more. It originated as a spin-off of cloud software company Epazz and Passley leads several other companies including Ameritek Ventures.
ZenaTech became a Canadian company in 2018 to facilitate its going public on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The company’s initial products were aimed at marijuana and hemp-related businesses, with tools ranging from tracking plants from seed to sale to processing payments.
The business said it has now chosen Ireland as the location for the drone deployment because of the country’s small size and relative strength of its agricultural industry.
“At ZenaDrone, our team has a commitment to innovate, improve, test and enhance our drone technology to help meet the needs of the farmers in these uncertain times,” Passley said.
“We strive to ensure that we are providing the latest tech, most advanced software and best customer service. We look forward to being able to help Irish farmers and producers and also to welcoming more Irish talent to the ZenaDrone team.”
ZenaTech is aiming to help the agricultural sector in Ireland close its widening labour gap through automation and technology.
Data suggests there has been a minor decrease in the number of people employed in agriculture in Ireland in recent years, from 5.8pc of the population in 2012 to 4.48pc in 2020.
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