Kenya Civil Aviation Authority has approved draft regulations on the commercial use of drones

After a two-year ban of unmanned aereal vehicles for non-military reasons in Kenya, the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) has approved draft regulations on the commercial use of drones in the country. The law will be released soon, according to governemnt officials. Kenya is the second African nation after Rwanda to grant the permission to fly drones for commercial use. An article released in May 2016 by the Daily Nation newspaper, Kenya's largest, reported that more than 1,000 applicants were already seeking regulatory approvals to operate drone-based transport services in Kenya.

Among the most useful potential applications for drones are in the field of agriculture, humanitarian aid and nature conservation. UAVs are a relatively cheap technology that can have many beneficial effects for farmers, as they provide farmers with an aereal view of their land which they never had before. Thanks to this technology they can conduct a soil analysis, crop monitoring and health assessment study on their crops.

Drones can also be a valuable tool to tackle deforestation and preserve land property and land rights. Drones can help rangers in mapping forests and detect illegal hunting and help indigenous peoples mapping their territory in order to preserve its limits. Finally, drones can also be useful for NGOs in Kenya to make deliveries of essential medicine in hard-to-reach areas for example.

Under the new rules, those operating the aircraft will still need to be trained pilots and have a security clearance from the Ministry of Defense.

Source: The Daily Nation