In recent years, especially after the outbreak of COVID-19, intelligent agricultural machinery represented by plant protection unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has played a great role in agricultural production. Now, made-in-China agricultural plant protection drones are flying into more countries to help local farmers produce more efficiently, conveniently and safely.
At 4 PM local time, when the sun is no longer burning, Thai farmer Nigong stands on a ridge and controls an agricultural plant protection drone. With the rapid “buzzing” sound, the drone shuttles over the farmland, and the white fog of pesticide is spewed out from below the body, forming a fog curtain and accurately spraying on the crops.
Nikkong is 43 years old and his hometown is in the northeastern Thai province of Lai Yat. Nikkong and his wife used to work in a Bangkok duty-free shop, but their income has fallen sharply due to the economic downturn in Thailand, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. In early 2020, they quit their jobs in Bangkok to return home to farm. Before returning home, Nikon sold his property in Bangkok and bought a DJI agricultural plant protection drone. He decided to take advantage of his original expertise in aerial drone photography and develop a new professional identity as an agricultural plant protection drone “flier”.
Nikong said that the use of drones is mainly to spray pesticides and fertilizers on crops. “Young people are reluctant to stay in the countryside and work in the fields. The village has a tight labor force. Using drones can help farmers reduce workload and improve work efficiency. Manual spraying is no more than 10 lai (about 2.4 mu) of rice a day. Now I can spray 40 to 50 lai a day with drones, or even more.” He said.
Nikkong and more than 20 other drone “fliers” took orders via social media to conduct drone spraying operations in Lai Yat Fu and surrounding areas. He said that Lai Yat Phu mainly grows rice, which is a double – and three-season rice growing area. There is almost no idle time for farming. He works about six hours a day, about 25 days a month, “not only earn more than when I work in Bangkok duty free shop, but also have more time for my family.”
In Chunpong Province, southern Thailand, Arun uses agricultural plant protection drones to spray pesticides to kill durian tree pests, which is not only efficient, but also safe.
Arun has a 30 lei durian orchard. During the pandemic, Laotian workers at the durian orchard were unable to return to work, he said, so they took a tentative approach to spraying with drones. “I wasn’t sure how good the drone would be at first, but I couldn’t find any workers, so I had to give it a try. After using the drone, I found that I could not only kill pests efficiently, but also avoid pesticide poisoning.”
About 200,000 people die each year from acute pesticide poisoning, with a large proportion of deaths caused by direct spraying, according to a United Nations study. In the past, Aron said, orchard workers used long poles to spray pesticides on fruit trees. Some of the pesticides fell on people and remained in the air, causing harm if inhaled. “The biggest change that drones have made is that my job has become easier, cheaper, safer and I can avoid pesticide poisoning.”
He also calculated that his durian orchard costs 6,000 baht (about $0.19) to administer each dose, at least 50 times a year, which means he could save 300,000 baht a year by using the drone.
Thailand is a traditional agricultural country, and agriculture plays a pivotal role in Thailand’s economic development. In recent years, due to the adjustment of agricultural population structure, increasing aging and increasing labor costs, Thailand’s demand for modern agricultural machinery has grown rapidly, and the addition of Chinese agricultural drones has provided an “acceleration” for the development of modern agriculture in Thailand.
Based on user needs, the functional efficiency of rice and fruit trees and other local core operation scenarios has been constantly optimized. The acceptance of the products by users has been continuously improved, and the sales volume in Thailand has been continuously doubling since 2019. “Thailand has become the largest single overseas market for agricultural plant protection UAVs in terms of shipments this year.”
Agriculture at home has contributed to the development of agricultural modernization, and we hope to promote these successful experiences to the world and contribute Chinese experience and technology.”
