Objectives

The primary objective of this tender is to appoint a service provider capable of delivering aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services focused on agricultural commodity production and infrastructure within KwaZulu-Natal. The project aims to map and geo-reference agricultural activities, infrastructure, land use changes, and natural resources to support sustainable agricultural management, land preservation, and sector planning. It also seeks to develop baseline data on crop types, infrastructure, and land use changes, including seasonal variations, to inform policy, planning, and disaster management.

Scope

The scope of work includes:

• Conducting aerial surveys over the entire rural agricultural landscape of KwaZulu-Natal, covering both winter and summer crops and related infrastructure.
• Mapping and geo-referencing agricultural land, crops (including horticultural, timber, herbs, sugarcane, hydroponics, shade nets, tunnels), and infrastructure such as dairies, abattoirs, feedlots, poultry, piggeries, and related structures.
• Creating and updating field boundary datasets, including farm boundaries and infrastructure footprints.
• Focusing flyover operations on complex agricultural landscapes, orchards, vineyards, irrigated systems, and areas with mixed cropping, while excluding land cover classes reliably mapped from existing datasets.
• Developing a geo-referenced database supported by aerial photography and surveys, including winter and summer crop identification, infrastructure, and production activities.
• Assessing land use changes, emergent commodities, and problem areas per district/local municipality.
• Providing data to support the development of provincial agro-processing strategies and sector plans, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and standards.

Technical Requirements

The technical scope includes:

• Utilizing manned aircraft for aerial surveys, with operations focusing on priority agricultural areas and complex landscapes.
• Employing advanced remote sensing technologies, including satellite imagery (e.g., Sentinel-2), machine learning, and AI for crop and land use classification.
• Ensuring all spatial data conforms to national GIS standards and is compatible with ESRI ArcGIS 10.8 or equivalent systems.
• Developing a comprehensive field boundary database with detailed attributes, including crop type, infrastructure type, business name, GPS coordinates, and other relevant data.
• Supporting data collection with experienced natural resource observers and ensuring high accuracy in crop and infrastructure identification, even under challenging conditions like netting or limited access.
• Providing regular progress reports, including technical documentation, methodology, and verification activities, in MS Word format.
• Meeting all aviation safety and regulatory standards, including SACAA licensing, aircraft compliance, and flight approval processes.
• Adhering to South African statistical and quality standards (SASQAF) for data collection and analysis.

Skills Requirements

The successful service provider must demonstrate:

• Proven experience in aerial survey operations using manned aircraft, with SACAA certification and compliance.
• Expertise in remote sensing, GIS, and geospatial data processing, with proficiency in ArcGIS and relevant statistical packages (e.g., STATA, SAS, SPSS, SQL).
• Capability in applying AI and machine learning techniques for crop classification, land use mapping, and predictive analytics.
• Strong project management skills, including methodology development, team organization, and risk management.
• Experience in agricultural land use, infrastructure mapping, and natural resource management within South Africa or similar contexts.
• Ability to produce high-quality, compliant spatial data and reports, meeting national and international standards.
• Effective communication skills for reporting, stakeholder engagement, and technical documentation.
• Capacity to handle large datasets securely, with proper data management and confidentiality protocols.