Brussels, March 2017. The general director of Finnova and the StartUp Europe Accelerator, Juan Manuel Revuelta, has presented at the European Parliament the biomimetic drones control project developed by the Spanish company Kowat Control Biomimetic. The presentation took place during the event "Smart Farming and New Technologies" organized by MEPs Victor Negrescu and Franc Bogovic, with the support of EU40, the platform of MEPs under 40.

 

Revuelta has been invited to present innovative agricultural solution practices from the StartUp Europe Accelerator program at this event, in which he stated that "the biomimetic drones developed by Kowat are an example of how innovation can provide real solutions, and how Spain is generating innovations that push forward sectors such as the agricultural, at global level ".
 

This conference was an excellent opportunity to learn more about the future of agriculture from experts working in the field and award-winning entrepreneurs, such as MEP Paolo De Castro, Vice-Chair Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development; MEP Nicola Caputo, Member Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development; Ana Cuadrado Galvan, Research Programme Officer, DG Agriculture and Rural Development; ?tefan ?i Mihai St?nescu co-founders Agriso, a startup that developed an APP capable of real time monitoring farm exploitations; Cezar Nourescu, Co-Founder, CBN IT winner of the Best New Startup 2016 ANIS Prize, and Lenard Koschwitz, Director EU Affairs Allied for Startups.
 

During the conference, Finnova launched the Agritech category of the StartUp Europe Awards 2017, an initiative promoted by the European Commission and implemented by Finnova, with the aim of identifying local models that serve as an example to new entrepreneurs and support public institutions to develop programs to promote them. The Spanish’s MEPs Gabriel Mato and Ester Herranz, as well as eight other European MEPs and the director of ICO Pablo Zalba, are ambassadors of the StartUp Europe Awards.
 

Kowat Control Biomimetic is a Spanish company that, after more than 12 years of research on ethology and animal psychology, has developed a patented biomimetic drone directed by an autopilot in order to use the most powerful weapon of all emotions, fear, as a sustainable method for avian pest control. Just as an example: FAO has estimated the cormorant's damage to European fish farms at USD 900 million to the extent that it has had to change legislation relative to this protected species without obtaining still the expected results.
 

It does not seem reasonable to use lethal methods when this company has achieved an effectiveness that exceeds 90% in these evolutionary combats and has the potential to create welfare and employment while protecting biodiversity since it can even avoid the damage caused by meshes and nets to protected or endangered species when they get tangled and die drowned or starved. It should be noted that more than 1/3 of fish farms are located within protected areas and most fall under very restrictive environmental laws.
 

On the other hand, the losses in agriculture caused by birds worldwide, according to the FAO, exceed the trillion dollars. FAO also considers that wildlife control can produce savings in the agriculture of over 20% oin pesticides by avoiding pest expansion. Kowat Control Biomimetic represents a clear example of agricultural RIS3 with an idea that started and incubated in the region of Andalusia, where there is a strong support for innovation in agriculture, in one of the most important natural parks in Europe (Coto de Doñana) and has been supported by first order institutions, such as the Doñana Biological Station (CSIC), Tecnalia and the European Space Agency (ESA), which has definitely supported Kowat in its Business Incubation Centre in Barcelona, after receiving the First Prize in the Region of Catalonia and the Second World Prize of the European Satellite Navigation Competition 2016.
 

Thanks to this collaboration, the company has succeeded in successfully combining disciplines such as paleontology, biology, computer sciences, mechatronics, aeronautics and aerospace science, without which it would be impossible to universalize this innovative technology. It is another example of the technological duality potential provided: originality and innovation, employment, competitiveness, wealth and sustainable solutions to our agriculture.