The Samara Region hosted the 2026 Unmanned Aircraft Systems Personnel Forum, attended by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Roman Nekrasov, representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and UAS manufacturers. Nekrasov noted that in crop farming, drones treated nearly 800,000 hectares in 2025, with a forecast of over 1 million hectares for 2026. Unmanned systems are used in livestock farming (monitoring reindeer herds in northern regions, accounting for small ruminants in Karachay-Cherkessia), crop farming, land reclamation, aquatic biological resource research, and control and supervisory activities. Leading regions for UAS application in the agro-industrial complex include Samara Region, Primorsky Krai, Tatarstan, Altai Krai, and Lipetsk Region.
Agricultural universities under the Ministry of Agriculture are introducing training courses and equipment to prepare UAS specialists.