Foreign media: food demand prompted Chinese drones to enter the agricultural field

[China Agricultural Machinery Industry News] Foreign media said that although UAVs are well known for their entertainment and military use, they have other values, especially to help increase food supply. It is estimated that by 2050, the world population will reach 9.9 billion, so this is an urgent need.

Foreign media: food demand prompted Chinese drones to enter the agricultural field

According to a report by the Japanese diplomatic scholars website on November 11, at the China Commercial UAV Forum held in Shenzhen, agricultural experts and drone manufacturers discussed the problems currently facing the Chinese drone industry. When talking about the application of drones in agriculture, Liu Libo of a UAV development company in Shenzhen said: "Although progress has been made, we still see great development in the actual use of drones. potential."

According to the report, China has a population of 1.3 billion. Due to rising food consumption, scarcity of land and declining agricultural labor, China urgently needs to increase agricultural productivity. One of the options is to use drones in agricultural production. Although this evolution will be gradual, China's agriculture is gradually becoming mechanized.

Wu Yiyuan of Shenzhen Gaoke New Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. pointed out: "Since 2012, the Chinese government has continuously introduced policies to support the development of high-tech agriculture, including the use of drones."

Multi-rotor or fixed-wing drones over farmland, connected to cloud systems, using advanced sensors and cameras to generate real-time data and images of plant growth, soil conditions, soil temperature, water levels, and threats to crops .

As the payload capacity of drones increases, the use of drones to apply pesticides and fertilizers is becoming feasible. Wu Yiyuan said that pesticides should be applied within three days after the occurrence of plant diseases, and drones can reach areas that people cannot go, which may save crops throughout the season.

According to the report, as China's agricultural population is gradually aging or shifting to other occupations, drones also fill the gap in human resources. Some speakers said in the forum that the efficiency of drones is 20 to 30 times that of humans.

Zhang Li, general manager of a technology company in Liaoning, said: "Because of the vast farmland, we call for more farm work with drones."

Unlike the farmland in the United States, which is flat and easily accessible, many of China's farmland is often located in remote highland areas where tractors cannot reach, but drones can.

In terms of applying agricultural inputs, drones are also more. The use of drones not only helps increase production, but also saves farmers money, reduces their exposure to chemicals, and helps protect the environment. On average, Chinese farmers use much more pesticides than farmers in other countries. According to reports, drones can halve the amount of pesticides.

Speakers also said in the forum that in addition to agriculture, forestry and fisheries will also benefit from the use of drones. Drones can transmit information about orchards, wildlife ecosystems, and the health of remote marine life areas.

Zhang Shuo, a technology officer at Wuxi Hanhe Aviation Technology Co., Ltd., said that developing technology is a step in making China more technologically savvy, but for farmers, the solution must also be affordable. And practical.

Zhang Shuo said: "For us, just providing products is not enough. We need to provide solutions. Farmers are not experts, they need simple and clear things."

Farmers in the US that are industrially sized may be able to afford drones costing up to $15,000 each, but for Chinese farmers with an average annual income of only $1,175, the cost is high.

However, Han Wei, an executive at Anyang Quanfeng Biotechnology Co., Ltd., believes that there are ways to circumvent this problem. He mentioned large farms in western and northern China. He said: "In many areas of China, the area of ​​cultivated land is vast and the government can provide subsidies for the use of drones."

UAV rental and service companies are also appearing. For example, a land surveyor can make a profit by letting a drone fly over a large piece of land. Zhang Shuo said: "There were not many people in this industry, but many people are now doing drone mapping."

According to the report, demand is prompting Chinese drone manufacturers to enter the agricultural sector, and in this respect, there is no place comparable to Shenzhen, the world's drone capital. About three-quarters of China's drone manufacturers and research companies are based in Shenzhen. More than 90% of the world's drones are produced here.

(Original title: Foreign media said that Chinese drones are targeting new areas of agriculture to help food supply)