Gran Chaco drone reforestation pilot

The pilot tests aerial seeding near Tostado (Santa Fe) and Bandera (Santiago del Estero).¹ ReForest Latam supplies the drones and seed technology.¹ The work is part of a TNC Argentina initiative carried out in partnership with the John Deere Foundation.¹

Drones drop biodegradable capsules holding native seeds and biostimulants.¹ Sites are characterised beforehand with GIS, an ecosystem-analysis platform and AI, and flights are timed around expected rain.¹ White carob is the main species, with yellow floss silk tree, guayacán and Santiago red quebracho.¹ The pilot targets 13 hectares and about 8,000 trees.¹ The wider project aims at 100,000 trees, and more than 300 hectares had already been planted with seedlings by hand.¹

Control plots are checked every 45 days.¹ About 120 days after the flights the team compares seedlings in treated and untreated areas.¹ As of August 2026 the drone seeding was still under test, and no germination or survival results had been published.¹