# ProxyDrone — Full Marketing Corpus


> Machine-readable concatenation of every public marketing page. Generated dynamically; refresh hourly.

> Canonical site: https://proxydrone.eu

> Last generated: 2026-10-15T23:33:03+00:00


---


## About ProxyDrone

ProxyDrone is the first online marketplace for utility drone services in Romania, operated jointly by **SC Web LOFT SRL** (CUI 44674942, J40/13171/2021, registered at Str. Buzoeni 14, Sector 5, București 050585) and **AGXECUTIVE SRL** (CUI 34648490, J2015002000239, registered at Str. I. C. Brătianu 49, Mogoșoaia, Ilfov County 077135). The platform connects farmers, agronomists, construction companies and infrastructure operators with verified drone pilots across all 41 Romanian counties plus Bucharest.

**What makes it work:**

- **Verified operators** — every pilot holds an AACR licence for the applicable operating category, drone civil liability insurance (EU 2019/947 minimum), and ANSP airspace authorisation. Documents are validated manually before any operator can accept jobs.
- **Transparent pricing** — no haggling. The client marks a field on the map, picks a service and urgency, and gets an instant quote using the formula `base_tariff × area × urgency_multiplier + travel_surcharge`. Urgency multipliers: standard 1.0×, priority 1.3×, express 1.6×.
- **Escrow payment** — card payment via Stripe, money held in escrow, released to the operator only after the client confirms the job was executed correctly.
- **Digital workflow** — booking, routing, tracking, payment, invoicing and review all happen in the app. Application logs include the real drone flight path and exact treatment time (useful for APIA subsidy claims and insurance).
- **0% commission promotion** — until 30 June 2026 the platform commission is 0% on all jobs (normally 50%).

**Founders:** Ciprian Mihalache (CEO, technical visionary) and Florin Constantin (CSO, commercial strategy). Founded 2025, public beta early 2026, EU expansion planned for 2026 H2.

## Services
ProxyDrone offers 6 service categories covering agriculture, mapping, inspection, photography, emergency operations and drone rental. All services are available in every Romanian county.

### Agricultural Spraying
Application of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and biostimulants via agricultural drones.
- **Herbicide Application** — from 100 RON/ha. Pre-emergent or post-emergent herbicide treatment.
- **Fungicide Application** — from 100 RON/ha. Contact, systemic or translaminar fungicide treatment.
- **Insecticide Application** — from 110 RON/ha. Contact, systemic or combined insecticide treatment.
- **Biostimulation / Foliar Nutrition** — from 100 RON/ha. Application of amino acids, humic acids, micronutrients or seaweed extract.
- **Tank Mix** — from 120 RON/ha. Combination of 2+ products from above categories, with prescription from agronomist.

### Precision Agriculture & Remote Sensing
NDVI scanning, orthophoto, canopy analysis and soil sampling guidance.
- **NDVI / Multispectral Scanning** — from 150 RON/ha
- **RGB Orthophoto Mapping** — from 120 RON/ha
- **Soil Sampling Guidance Flights** — from 100 RON/ha
- **Canopy / Stand Count Analysis** — from 130 RON/ha

### Aerial Photography & Videography
Real estate photography, events, agricultural documentation and construction monitoring.
- **Real Estate Aerial Photography** — from 500 RON/object
- **Events & Weddings** — from 400 RON/hour
- **Agricultural Documentation** — from 100 RON/ha
- **Industrial & Construction Progress** — from 600 RON/object

### Infrastructure & Asset Inspection
Power line, solar panel, building, bridge and road inspection.
- **Power Line & Utility Inspection** — from 250 RON/km
- **Solar Panel Inspection** — from 800 RON/object
- **Building & Roof Inspection** — from 600 RON/object
- **Bridge, Road & Railway Inspection** — from 300 RON/km

### Emergency & Special Operations
Rapid crop damage assessment, search & rescue support and disaster monitoring.
- **Crop Damage Assessment (Rapid)** — from 200 RON/ha
- **Search Pattern Support** — from 350 RON/ha
- **Wildfire / Flood Monitoring** — from 400 RON/hour

### Drone Rental (Self-Pilot)
Drone rental for certified users, consumer or professional.
- **Consumer / Prosumer Drone Rental** — from 100 RON/hour
- **Agricultural Drone Rental (Licensed Operators)** — from 250 RON/hour


## Frequently asked questions
All answers target the Romanian market and are updated when platform rules change. Source of truth: https://proxydrone.eu/en/faq

### Pricing and payment
**Q: How much does a drone treatment cost per hectare?**
Tariffs start at 80 RON/hectare for mapping and 100 RON/hectare for agricultural spraying, no haggling. The final price depends on area, urgency (standard, priority or express) and operator distance. You get an instant quote when you mark the field in the app, before you confirm.

**Q: How is the final price of a job calculated?**
The formula is: base tariff × area × urgency multiplier + travel surcharge. Standard = 1.0×, priority = 1.3×, express = 1.6×. No hidden fees — you see exactly what you pay before confirming the booking, and the ProxyDrone commission is transparent.

**Q: How does payment and escrow work?**
You pay at booking time by card via Stripe. The money is held in escrow and released to the operator only after you confirm the job was executed correctly. If an issue arises, you open a dispute and the amount stays locked until it is resolved.

**Q: Are there hidden fees or subscriptions?**
No. There are no subscriptions, sign-up fees or hidden costs — neither for clients nor for operators. You pay only for the executed job, and the platform commission is shown before confirmation. Until 30 June 2026 the ProxyDrone commission is 0% on all jobs.

**Q: Can I get an invoice for a paid job?**
Yes. The tax invoice is generated automatically when the job is marked complete and you receive it by email and in your account. It contains all the details needed for accounting and VAT deduction, if you are a VAT-registered company.

**Q: What is the ProxyDrone commission for operators?**
The standard commission is 50% of the job value, per the business plan. During the launch period, until 30 June 2026, the commission is 0% — the operator keeps 100% of the job value. There are no monthly fees or sign-up costs.

### How the platform works
**Q: How do I book a drone operator on ProxyDrone?**
You sign up for free, pick the service (spraying, NDVI, inspection, etc.), mark the field on the map or enter coordinates, choose urgency and get an instant price. You confirm payment and the algorithm automatically assigns the nearest certified operator. The whole process takes under 5 minutes.

**Q: How quickly does an operator arrive?**
For standard jobs, the operator confirms within a few hours and executes the job in 1–3 days, depending on weather. For priority urgency the target is 24 hours, and for express we aim for same-day execution when weather allows. You get notifications at every stage.

**Q: Can I track the job in real time?**
Yes. You see the job status step by step: confirmed, operator on the way, in execution, completed. For some services the operator uploads the application log with the real drone path and exact treatment time, which stays in your history for APIA or insurance documentation.

**Q: What happens if the weather does not allow the job to be done?**
If wind, rain or other conditions make safe execution impossible, the operator automatically reschedules the job for the next favourable weather window, at no extra cost. You get a notification and can confirm or cancel. The money stays in escrow until execution or refund.

**Q: Can I cancel or modify a job after I booked it?**
Yes. Cancellations are free at least 24 hours before execution. Under 24 hours a partial fee applies for the operator travel. Minor changes (area, date) can be made directly from the app, as long as the operator has not already started travelling to the field.

### Operators and verification
**Q: What qualifications do ProxyDrone operators have?**
All operators are manually verified by our team. They must hold an AACR licence for the applicable operating category, civil liability insurance for drones, and ANSP airspace authorisation. Documents are validated before the operator can accept their first job.

**Q: How is the operator for my job selected?**
The ProxyDrone algorithm automatically assigns the nearest available operator who has the drones and qualifications required for your job type. Operators with the best reviews and completion rate are prioritised. You do not need to call, negotiate or search — everything happens automatically.

**Q: How do I become an operator on ProxyDrone?**
You sign up on the "Become operator" page, upload your AACR licence, insurance and certifications, then configure your fleet and operating radius. Our team verifies the documents in 1–3 business days. Once approved you start receiving job notifications in your area. There is no sign-up fee.

**Q: Can I see operator reviews before booking?**
The right operator is automatically assigned for your job, but after execution you see their full profile with reviews, completion rate and history. You can leave your own public review, which helps other farmers and keeps quality high in the verified operator network.

### Safety and compliance
**Q: Is drone spraying legal in Romania?**
Yes, it is regulated by AACR under EU regulation 2019/947 and requires an operator licence, authorisation for the specific operating category, and ANSP airspace approvals. ProxyDrone ensures all operators in the network meet these requirements before they can accept jobs.

**Q: Am I covered by insurance in case of damage?**
Yes. All operators are required to hold civil liability insurance for drones, validated by our team before approval. In case of an incident, you open a dispute in the app and ProxyDrone mediates the process with the operator insurer to speed up the claim.

**Q: Are my data and field data protected?**
Yes. ProxyDrone is GDPR-compliant. Your personal data and field maps stay private, accessible only to you and the operator assigned to the job. NDVI results, orthophotos and application logs are stored in your account and can be exported in KML, shapefile or John Deere formats.

**Q: What happens if the job is not executed as required?**
If the result is not satisfactory, you open a dispute in the app within 48 hours of completion. The payment stays locked in escrow until our team reviews the case together with the operator. Solutions can include free re-execution, partial refund or full refund.

### Coverage areas
**Q: In which areas of Romania does ProxyDrone operate?**
ProxyDrone covers all of Romania. Operator density is higher in intensive agricultural areas — the Romanian Plain, Banat, Dobruja, southern Moldavia — but we have operators in every county. For remote areas the execution time may be slightly longer, but the price stays transparent.

**Q: Is there a surcharge for rural or remote areas?**
There is a travel surcharge proportional to the operator distance from the field, calculated automatically and shown before job confirmation. For larger areas, the travel surcharge is significantly diluted per hectare and the job becomes more economically efficient.

**Q: Is there a minimum area for booking?**
For services priced per hectare (spraying, NDVI), the minimum area is 1 hectare to justify the operator travel. For services priced per hour or per object (inspections, aerial photography) there is no minimum — the price reflects actual operating time.

**Q: Do you also serve clients outside Romania?**
We currently operate exclusively in Romania. Expansion to the Republic of Moldova, Bulgaria and Hungary is planned for 2026 H2. For cross-border projects from neighbouring EU states you can contact us directly and we will assess the job feasibility on a case-by-case basis.

### Price reference table
| Service | Unit | Range (RON) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural spraying | per hectare | 100–120 | herbicide, fungicide, insecticide, biostimulant |
| NDVI / multispectral mapping | per hectare | 80–150 | vegetation analysis, prescription report |
| RGB orthophoto | per hectare | 80–120 | 2–5 cm/pixel resolution |
| Damage assessment (hail, drought) | per hectare | 100–200 | APIA and insurance documentation |
| Power line / bridge inspection | per km | 200–500 | optional thermal imaging |
| Solar panel inspection | per MW installed | 300–800 | hotspot detection, detailed report |
| Aerial photo / video | per hour | 200–500 | real estate, events, construction |
| Drone rental (self-pilot) | per hour | 100–250 | consumer and agricultural, insurance included |


## Coverage — Romanian counties
ProxyDrone has verified operators in all 41 Romanian counties plus Bucharest. Operator density is highest in the intensive agricultural regions (Romanian Plain, Banat, Dobruja, southern Moldavia).

### Banat
- **Arad** (seat: Arad; ~350,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Caraș-Severin** (seat: Reșița; ~180,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Timiș** (seat: Timișoara; ~540,000 ha agricultural land)

### București
- **Bucharest** (seat: București; ~3,000 ha agricultural land)

### Crișana
- **Bihor** (seat: Oradea; ~320,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Sălaj** (seat: Zalău; ~200,000 ha agricultural land)

### Dobrogea
- **Constanța** (seat: Constanța; ~480,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Tulcea** (seat: Tulcea; ~290,000 ha agricultural land)

### Maramureș
- **Maramureș** (seat: Baia Mare; ~200,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Satu Mare** (seat: Satu Mare; ~250,000 ha agricultural land)

### Moldova
- **Bacău** (seat: Bacău; ~220,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Botoșani** (seat: Botoșani; ~290,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Galați** (seat: Galați; ~290,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Iași** (seat: Iași; ~270,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Neamț** (seat: Piatra Neamț; ~180,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Suceava** (seat: Suceava; ~260,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Vaslui** (seat: Vaslui; ~270,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Vrancea** (seat: Focșani; ~200,000 ha agricultural land)

### Muntenia
- **Argeș** (seat: Pitești; ~220,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Brăila** (seat: Brăila; ~380,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Buzău** (seat: Buzău; ~290,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Călărași** (seat: Călărași; ~425,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Dâmbovița** (seat: Târgoviște; ~240,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Giurgiu** (seat: Giurgiu; ~270,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Ialomița** (seat: Slobozia; ~380,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Ilfov** (seat: Buftea; ~85,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Prahova** (seat: Ploiești; ~250,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Teleorman** (seat: Alexandria; ~480,000 ha agricultural land)

### Oltenia
- **Dolj** (seat: Craiova; ~480,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Gorj** (seat: Târgu Jiu; ~200,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Mehedinți** (seat: Drobeta-Turnu Severin; ~190,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Olt** (seat: Slatina; ~410,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Vâlcea** (seat: Râmnicu Vâlcea; ~190,000 ha agricultural land)

### Transilvania
- **Alba** (seat: Alba Iulia; ~220,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Bistrița-Năsăud** (seat: Bistrița; ~175,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Brașov** (seat: Brașov; ~180,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Cluj** (seat: Cluj-Napoca; ~240,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Covasna** (seat: Sfântu Gheorghe; ~130,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Harghita** (seat: Miercurea Ciuc; ~180,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Hunedoara** (seat: Deva; ~195,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Mureș** (seat: Târgu Mureș; ~270,000 ha agricultural land)
- **Sibiu** (seat: Sibiu; ~200,000 ha agricultural land)


## Blog — practical guides
Every blog post is also available as a standalone markdown file at `/en/blog/{slug}.md`.

### ProxyDrone on Noi venim din viitor with Mirel Bran at RFI Romania
_Published 2026-08-12 by Ciprian Mihalache_

Florin Constantin and Ciprian Mihalache join Mirel Bran on RFI Romania's "Noi venim din viitor" ("We come from the future") — Friday 14 August 2026 at 17:30 — to talk about ProxyDrone.eu, the "made in Romania" Uber for drones.

## ProxyDrone, live on RFI Romania

On **RFI Romania**, Friday **14 August 2026**, from **17:30 to 18:00** — with a rebroadcast on Saturday **15 August** after the 11:00 news:

**Florin Constantin and Ciprian Mihalache – Proxydrone.eu, the "made in Romania" Uber for drones from the future**

*By: Mirel Bran*

![Florin Constantin, Mirel Bran and Ciprian Mihalache in the RFI Romania studio](/images/rfi-romania-14-08-2026.jpg)

## The story behind the show

There are stories about the future written in laboratories, with algorithms and servers, and stories about the future written in the field, with mud on your boots and farmers wondering whether they still have the means to put seed into the ground.

Romania is living both stories at the same time: a machinery crisis and farming seasons thrown into disarray by the weather and by the times. But we also have technology that quite literally descends from the sky — swarms of drones and digital platforms that promise to bring order to the chaos.

The guests of today's edition of "Noi venim din viitor" ("We come from the future") are **Florin Constantin** and **Ciprian Mihalache**, two entrepreneurs who decided to treat agriculture not as a sector "left behind", but as a playground for technology, AI and bold business models.

Florin comes from the agribusiness world, with years of experience in consulting and top-management recruitment through AGXecutive. He is the man who stays close to the real numbers and real pains of Romania's farmers. Ciprian comes from IT, from the universe of software architectures and microservices.

Together they created **ProxyDrone.eu**, a kind of "Uber for agriculture". It is the first digital marketplace that connects farmers directly with utility drone operators — bringing treatments, imagery, sophisticated mapping and flight services exactly where traditional machinery can no longer arrive in time.

## What we talk about

In today's show we talk about their projects, their business and life journeys, and how the idea of ProxyDrone.eu was born. We explore what it means to build a joint venture between agribusiness and IT, and how drones, digital platforms and artificial intelligence can redraw the map of Romanian agriculture. We start from the farmers who "haven't put seed into the ground because they have nothing to do it with" and go all the way to the vision of an ecosystem where machinery, specialists and data are shared intelligently between farms.

You can find out more about them and their projects at: [proxydrone.eu](https://proxydrone.eu)

## Listen to the show

[youtube:iurrNdqG3mg]

Thank you to Mirel Bran and the RFI Romania team for the invitation and the conversation.

Source: https://proxydrone.eu/en/blog/proxydrone-on-rfi-romania
Romanian version: https://proxydrone.eu/blog/proxydrone-la-rfi-romania

---

### ProxyDrone featured in Profitul Agricol
_Published 2026-04-15 by Ciprian Mihalache_

The weekly Profitul Agricol no. 13 from 15 April 2026 featured ProxyDrone in a piece on the digitalisation of agricultural drone services in Romania.

## ProxyDrone in Profitul Agricol

The weekly **Profitul Agricol**, in issue no. 13 dated **15 April 2026**, ran a feature on ProxyDrone and the role we play in digitalising agricultural drone services in Romania.

![The article in Profitul Agricol no. 13, 15 April 2026](/images/profitul-agricol-15-04-2026.png)

## Why Profitul Agricol matters

Profitul Agricol is one of Romania's most widely read publications in the agri-food sector, with an audience made up primarily of farmers, agronomists, farm managers and agricultural input suppliers — exactly the segment we target with ProxyDrone. Being featured here means our message reaches the people who stand to benefit the most from drone services: those who work the land and are looking for modern, verified solutions at a fair price.

## What we discussed

The piece covers some of the core themes behind ProxyDrone:

- **The problem we solve.** Farmers who want to use drones for spraying, NDVI mapping or monitoring have no simple way of finding a verified operator. The market is fragmented, pricing is opaque, and service quality varies wildly. ProxyDrone brings supply and demand into one place, with verified operators and automatically calculated prices.
- **How the platform works.** The client selects a service, picks one of the locations defined in their account, gets an instant price and pays digitally. Verified operators apply to the offer and the client picks who to work with. Payment is held in escrow until correct execution is confirmed.
- **Operator verification.** Every operator in the network goes through a manual verification process: AACR licence, civil liability insurance, ANSP airspace authorisation, fleet technical documentation. We wrote in detail about [how we vet operators](/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-drone-operator).
- **Precision agriculture.** The article highlights the potential of drones in precision agriculture — from targeted spraying that can reduce phytosanitary product use by up to 30%, to NDVI mapping that identifies crop stress zones before the naked eye can.

## What this means for farmers

If you're a farmer reading this, here's what you can do right now:

- **Book a service** directly on the platform at [proxydrone.eu/app](/app/register?role=client) — choose the service, mark the field, get the price and confirm
- **Compare prices** on the [services page](/en/services) — prices are public, transparently calculated, no negotiations
- **Read our guides** on [drone spraying vs. tractor spraying](/en/blog/drone-vs-tractor-spraying) and [NDVI mapping](/en/blog/what-is-ndvi-mapping)

## What this means for drone operators

Being featured in Profitul Agricol means our potential client base is growing — and that means more jobs for operators in the network. If you're an operator and haven't joined the ProxyDrone network yet, you can start the verification process at [proxydrone.eu/en/become-operator](/en/become-operator).

## After Ziarul Financiar, Profitul Agricol

This is our second national press feature in two weeks, following the [Ziarul Financiar article](/en/blog/proxydrone-in-ziarul-financiar) on 10 April. Two different publications, two complementary audiences: general business and agriculture. Both confirm that drone services are no longer a niche topic, but a real-economy one.

Thanks to the Profitul Agricol team for the coverage.

Source: https://proxydrone.eu/en/blog/proxydrone-in-profitul-agricol
Romanian version: https://proxydrone.eu/blog/proxydrone-in-profitul-agricol

---

### ProxyDrone featured in Ziarul Financiar
_Published 2026-04-10 by Ciprian Mihalache_

Ziarul Financiar ran a feature on ProxyDrone in its 10 April 2026 edition — a signal that the commercial drone operator market is becoming a serious topic for the Romanian economy.

## We've been featured in Ziarul Financiar

In its **10 April 2026** edition, Ziarul Financiar — Romania's leading business daily — ran a feature on ProxyDrone and on how we're trying to professionalise the commercial drone operator market in Romania. The full article is available on [zf.ro](https://www.zf.ro/companii/retail-agrobusiness/platforma-digitala-proxy-drone-isi-propune-fie-uberul-agriculturii-23119500). For a team that started with a prototype and a hand-verified list of operators, being written up in a legacy business publication is more than a proud moment — it's confirmation that "utility drones as a service" is becoming a topic the real economy cares about.

![The article in Ziarul Financiar, 10 April 2026](/images/ziarul-financiar-10-04-2026.png)

## What we discussed with the newsroom

The article covers the themes we repeat every time we explain ProxyDrone:

- **Why a verified marketplace is needed.** The operator market is fragmented: a few hundred small companies, most without a proper website, without any coherent online presence, and without any simple way for a farmer or a construction company to get a quote in a few minutes. We pull demand into a single place and take the responsibility for vetting supply.
- **How we validate operators.** AACR licence, civil liability insurance, ANSP airspace authorisation, fleet equipment — all of it is validated manually by our team before an operator can accept jobs. We wrote in detail about [how to choose a professional drone operator](/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-drone-operator), and that checklist is exactly the one we run.
- **Commission and escrow.** ProxyDrone runs on a per-transaction commission with payments held in escrow until the job is signed off, so both the client and the operator have a guarantee that the deal closes cleanly.
- **The medium-term ambition.** Romania first, EU expansion after. The categories we target — precision agriculture, NDVI mapping, industrial inspections, perimeter surveillance — are large enough to support a dedicated marketplace.

## Why it matters for clients

An article in Ziarul Financiar doesn't change anything technically, but it changes something in terms of trust: for a farmer or a company considering a drone service for the first time, the signal that the platform is taken seriously by the business press matters. It's one of the differences between "a random website I found on Google" and "a company I read about in ZF".

If you landed here from the article and want to see how the platform actually works, you can:

- Book a job directly with a verified operator at [proxydrone.eu/app](/app/register?role=client)
- Read [how we estimate prices](/en/services) for spraying, mapping and inspections
- Find out what the [operator verification process](/en/become-operator) involves

## Why it matters for operators

For existing drone operators in Romania, press coverage is even more relevant: it means that structured demand for their services is starting to grow. Any operator who clears a serious verification — licence, insurance, fleet, experience — gets direct access to clients who would never have found them by searching individually on Google.

If you're an operator and want to join the network, you can start the process at [proxydrone.eu/en/become-operator](/en/become-operator). We verify every candidate manually, but the process is standardised and fast.

## What's next

The ZF article is a starting point for us, not a finish line. By the end of 2026 we aim to:

- Reach **100+ verified operators** active in the network
- Ship full onboarding for **fleet managers** (companies with multiple pilots and multiple drones)
- Publish a quarterly report with real market-average prices for spraying, mapping and inspections — price transparency is one of the problems we want to fix

Thanks to the Ziarul Financiar team for the coverage, and to every operator and client already part of the network. Plenty still to build.

Source: https://proxydrone.eu/en/blog/proxydrone-in-ziarul-financiar
Romanian version: https://proxydrone.eu/blog/proxydrone-in-ziarul-financiar

---

### What is NDVI mapping and how it helps your farm
_Published 2026-04-06 by Ciprian Mihalache_

Practical guide to NDVI mapping with drones — what it measures, how to read the map, when it's worth it and how much it costs in Romania.

## The short answer

**NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) is a plant health map calculated from multispectral imagery — it shows exactly where your crop is thriving and where it's stressed.** The drone flies over the field with a camera that measures how much red light the plant absorbs (active photosynthesis) and how much near-infrared light it reflects (healthy leaves). The formula `(NIR - RED) / (NIR + RED)` gives a score between -1 and +1 for every pixel.

## How to read the map

The NDVI map is colour-coded from red (severe stress) to dark green (peak health):

| NDVI range | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 0.7–1.0 | Dark green | Healthy crop, high leaf density |
| 0.5–0.7 | Medium green | Normal growth |
| 0.3–0.5 | Yellow-green | Reduced growth, possible stress |
| 0.1–0.3 | Yellow-orange | Water stress, disease or nutrient deficiency |
| -0.1–0.1 | Red | Bare soil, dead plant or water |

**What you see in 5 minutes on a 50-hectare NDVI map**: stressed zones, early disease patches, parcels that need irrigation, areas with too-low plant density.

## When NDVI is worth ordering

NDVI is useful at key moments in the season:
- **Right after emergence** — check density uniformity
- **Before fertilisation** — apply variable-rate nitrogen where it's needed
- **During critical stress periods** — drought, heat wave, pest outbreak
- **Before harvest** — estimate yield and prioritise zones
- **For APIA and insurance claims** — document damage with technical evidence

For technical details about the map and exports see the [NDVI and multispectral mapping service page](/en/services/ndvi-multispectral).

## How much it costs in Romania

On ProxyDrone, **NDVI mapping starts at 80 RON per hectare** with a prescription report included. For larger areas (100+ hectares) the per-hectare price drops due to operator efficiency. You receive the result in 24–48 hours, ready to import into John Deere, Trimble or Climate FieldView, or exported as shapefile/KML.

## What you get in the report

- NDVI map in GeoTIFF and PNG format
- Variable-rate prescription map for fertilisation
- Exports for John Deere Operations Center, Trimble, Climate FieldView
- Per-zone statistics (area, mean NDVI, standard deviation)
- Interpretive comment — e.g. "zone X likely shows nitrogen deficiency stress"

## Why not satellite

Free satellites (Sentinel-2) have 10 metre/pixel resolution and pass every 5 days. A drone delivers **5 cm/pixel** resolution and can be dispatched exactly when you need it. For a wheat field hit by septoria, the difference between detecting a 2-metre patch (drone) and a 20-metre patch (satellite) can be the window in which you save the parcel with a targeted treatment.

## Frequently asked questions

**Do I need expertise to read the map?** No — the report includes plain-language interpretation and concrete recommendations.

**Can I track evolution over time?** Yes — ordering NDVI monthly shows clear trends and treatment effects.

**Does my data stay private?** Yes, the maps and reports are accessible only to you and the operator assigned to the job.

Book your first NDVI scan directly in the [app](/app/register?role=client) or see the [FAQ](/en/faq) for more details.

Source: https://proxydrone.eu/en/blog/what-is-ndvi-mapping
Romanian version: https://proxydrone.eu/blog/ce-este-cartografierea-ndvi

---

### Drone vs tractor spraying — which choice makes more sense
_Published 2026-04-03 by Ciprian Mihalache_

Practical comparison between drone spraying and tractor spraying on 6 criteria: water used, soil compaction, drift, speed, cost per hectare and accessibility.

## The short answer

**Drones clearly win on water, compaction, drift and accessibility; tractors hold on only for very high water-volume applications, dense canopies and large flat, dry parcels.** For most modern Romanian farming scenarios — compactable soils, sloped parcels, tight treatment windows, tall crops — drones are already the superior choice.

## Comparison on 6 criteria

| Criterion | Agricultural drone | Tractor with sprayer |
|---|---|---|
| **Water used** | 5–20 L/ha | 100–300 L/ha |
| **Soil compaction** | 0% (never touches the ground) | 2–3% surface per pass |
| **Substance drift** | ~75% lower (ULV atomisation) | High on wind >3 m/s |
| **Real speed** | 5–7 ha/hour | 8–12 ha/hour |
| **Cost per hectare** | 100–120 RON (standard) | 70–120 RON |
| **Accessibility** | Any parcel, including after rain | Only dry, accessible terrain |

## Why water matters so much

A tractor with standard equipment needs 200–300 litres of water per hectare. An agricultural drone uses 5–20 litres — **10 to 30 times less water.** For 50 hectares that's 15,000 litres with a tractor versus 750 litres with a drone. The difference isn't just financial — it's logistical: no more losing 2–3 hours refilling the tank, no water source needed near the field, no trips back to the well.

## Soil compaction — the tractor's hidden cost

A 5-tonne tractor leaves 2–3% of the surface compacted with every pass. Repeated over 20 years, that means **cumulative yield loss of 5–8%** in the heavily-trafficked strips. Drones don't touch the ground — they fly at 2–4 metres and operate invisibly from the soil structure perspective. On crops sensitive to compaction (sugar beet, soybean, peas), the difference is measurable.

## Drift — lost substance and compliance risk

A tractor atomises droplets of 100–400 microns. On wind above 3 m/s, up to 25% of the substance is carried off the parcel — a direct economic loss plus a legal risk if drift reaches orchards, beekeepers or neighbouring greenhouses. An agricultural drone produces ULV droplets of 50–200 microns, but directed vertically by the rotor downwash, **reducing drift by ~75%**.

## When the tractor still wins

- **Very dense crops** (e.g. mature vineyards) where airflow doesn't penetrate the canopy
- **High product volume applications** (brewer's yeast treatments at 400 L/ha)
- **Large, flat, dry parcels with no sensitive neighbours** — tractor economy of scale becomes unbeatable
- **Remote areas** with no drone operators available (ProxyDrone coverage is available in [every county](/en/services/counties))

## When the drone clearly wins

- After rain, when tractors compact and slip
- In tall crops (mature maize, sunflower) that tractors damage
- On slopes where tractors are dangerous
- In short weather windows where speed matters
- For emergency treatments (aphid outbreak, mildew) — see [damage assessment](/en/services/crop-damage-assessment)

## The ProxyDrone verdict

For 70% of spraying scenarios on Romanian farms between 10 and 500 hectares, **drones are already the better choice on cost-benefit** — especially when you factor in long-term compaction and drift. For the remaining 30%, tractors stay relevant. It's not a binary decision: the best farms use both, each for the right situation.

Book a spraying job in the [app](/app/register?role=client) or see the [price reference table and pricing FAQ](/en/faq#preturi) on the FAQ hub.

Source: https://proxydrone.eu/en/blog/drone-vs-tractor-spraying
Romanian version: https://proxydrone.eu/blog/stropire-drona-vs-tractor

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### How to choose a professional drone operator in Romania
_Published 2026-03-28 by Ciprian Mihalache_

Practical checklist for picking a certified drone operator — AACR licence, insurance, ANSP airspace authorisation, experience, reviews.

## The short answer

**A professional drone operator must hold an AACR licence for the operational category, civil liability insurance for drones, ANSP airspace authorisation and verifiable experience via real reviews.** On ProxyDrone all these requirements are validated manually by our team before an operator can accept jobs — so the hard part is done for you. If you book outside the platform, this is the checklist to run.

## Verification checklist

### 1. AACR licence

The Romanian Civil Aviation Authority (AACR) issues UAS operator licences in operational categories: OPEN (consumer, <25 kg, simple scenarios), SPECIFIC (commercial, medium-risk scenarios), CERTIFIED (industrial, high risk). For agriculture and commercial inspections the operator must be registered at least in the **SPECIFIC category** with an authorisation for the applicable standard scenario (STS-01 or STS-02).

**Ask to see:** the AACR registration number and expiry date. Ask for a PDF copy of the authorisation.

### 2. Civil liability insurance

Any commercial operator must hold drone civil liability insurance, with a minimum coverage limit of 750,000 SDR (Special Drawing Rights — ~1 million EUR), per EU regulation 2019/947. The insurance covers third-party damage in case of accident — vital for you as client if the drone hits neighbouring crops, structures or people.

**Ask to see:** the RC policy in PDF with the company name, validity period and coverage limit.

### 3. ANSP airspace authorisation

For many Romanian areas (near airports, restricted airspace, military zones), the operator must obtain authorisation from ANSP (Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration) before flying. Without it, operation is illegal and insurance won't cover damage.

**Ask to see:** the ANSP authorisation for the zone and the job date, or confirmation that the zone doesn't require special authorisation.

### 4. Verifiable experience

Serious operators have **real reviews from executed jobs**, not just website testimonials. Ask for references from clients with similar activity to yours (e.g. if you want corn spraying, ask for references from other corn growers, not event photographers).

**Ask to see:** the last 10 jobs with job type, area, date and, if possible, client contact for reference.

### 5. Appropriate fleet

An operator spraying with a 900-gram consumer drone **is not professional** — agriculture needs 20–50 kg drones with 10–40 litre tanks. The right equipment doesn't guarantee quality, but the lack of it rules it out.

**Ask to see:** drone make and model, max payload, spraying system, RTK GPS (for sub-metre precision).

## Red flags

Avoid operators who:
- Refuse to show documents or answer evasively to direct questions
- Offer prices well below market (100 RON/ha is the professional floor — 40 RON/ha is a signal of an uninsured operator)
- Don't leave a written contract or tax invoice
- Ask for full prepayment in cash
- Can't provide the application log after execution

## Why ProxyDrone simplifies this

On [ProxyDrone](/en), every operator in the network goes through [manual verification](/en/become-operator) before they can accept jobs:
- The AACR licence is validated against the AACR registry
- The RC policy is verified by its unique number
- Drones and operational scenarios are documented in the profile
- Reviews are real, left by clients verified through the platform
- Payment is in escrow — the money reaches the operator only after you confirm the job was executed correctly

Effectively, you don't need to run the checklist above — we do it, once per operator, before they can receive jobs.

## Frequently asked questions

**Can I see the operator profile before booking?** Yes — verified operators apply to your offer and you can review each profile (reviews, history, certifications) before choosing who to work with.

**What happens if the operator doesn't execute as required?** You open a dispute in the app and our team mediates. The money stays in escrow until it's resolved.

**How do I see a specific operator's AACR licence?** The operator's public profile includes the registration number. You can verify it directly on the AACR website.

Book a verified operator directly in the [app](/app/register?role=client) or read all the [frequently asked questions](/en/faq).

Source: https://proxydrone.eu/en/blog/how-to-choose-a-drone-operator
Romanian version: https://proxydrone.eu/blog/cum-aleg-un-operator-drone

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