It’s been only a decade since the world’s largest consumer drone maker DJI expanded into the precision farming sector. But by the end of 2022, the global number of DJI agriculture drones in operation had already crossed 200,000 units, with the cumulative farming area under them exceeding 200 million hectares.
These numbers come from the tech giant’s just-released DJI Agriculture Drone Insight Report 2022/23, which points to a greater acceptance of agriculture drones and advanced farming techniques in recent years.
“This report shows that governments around the world and farmers are adopting the use of agricultural drones and smart farming methods to increase food production in a more scientific, sustainable, and eco-friendly way,” says Yuan Zhang, head of global sales at DJI Agriculture. “This approach can reduce the amount of agricultural chemicals used while ensuring food security and environmental balance.”
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The report is split into several sections examining DJI’s own work in agriculture, global policy trends, innovations in drone applications, as well as best practices for farmers. DJI explains how it conducted a number of in-depth tests including droplet size tests, drifting tests, and herbicide tests across its Agras agricultural drone series, and details training a total of 150,000 agri drone pilots and 2,500 teachers to promote the cause of intelligent agriculture.
The company also talks about novel uses of drones in agriculture, including pollination, shaking dead flowers from fruit trees, and spraying of antifreeze and sunscreen for fruit trees. The report is filled with useful case studies as well, such as that of a large-scale potato farmer in Washington State who witnessed an 80% reduction in insect damage by conducting spot spraying on a 60-hectare field, or that of a Japanese rice producer who gained an additional $5,425 per hectare by reducing fertilizer consumption and yet increasing his yield.
There are extensive discussions around the world on establishing best practices for agricultural drones, which include crew training, drone technology improvement, pharmaceutical use specifications, standard operating procedures, and safe operation guidelines. As such, DJI’s detailed report on its agribusiness can prove to be a handy tool for regulators and users alike.
You can check out the complete report here.
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