Aerial surveillance and mapping drones have numerous commercial and public safety applications, but their expanding role in agriculture easily ranks as one of their most important.  That’s because increasing farm yields has become critical for feeding the world’s ever-expanding population and for reducing global poverty at a time when extreme weather patterns are making sustainable agriculture ever more difficult.

How can drones help?  Equipped with high-powered cameras and AI-powered sensors, UAVs can precisely map a farm’s soil fertility and crop disease patterns.  allowing seeds, fertilizer and pesticides to be targeted to areas in greatest need, minimizing input waste.  Precision farm drones are also faster and cheaper to deploy and maintain than piloted aircraft and human field labor, further reducing a farm producer’s operational costs.  And don’t forget: drones can also enhance sustainability. Unlike gas-powered airplanes and road vehicles, their battery-powered engines leave virtually no carbon footprint.

Not surprisingly, a growing number of countries anxious to expand their domestic farm production and to increase their agricultural exports are turning to precision farm drones – and with great results.  And while many drone companies are beginning to manufacture these highly specialized aircraft, no producer is more prolific than China-based DJI.  DJI first entered the agricultural sector barely a decade ago but has already sold more than 200,000 specialized farm drones, more than any other producer.  To date, those drones have covered a cumulative farming area of more than 200 million hectares. That figure exceeds the entire farming area of India (180 million hectares), the United States (168 million) and China (165 million).  No other drone company is currently in service at this level.

DJI has just released a highly informative report on the many ways drones are improving agricultural production worldwide.  Part of the report reviews the successes of the company’s Agras series drones in maximizing farm yields, especially in countries in Africa and Latin America that are dependent on agriculture for their very survival.

In addition to selling Agras drones, DJI has trained more than 150,000 drone pilots to fly and maintain them.  It has also placed 2,500 teachers in the field to explain to local farmers the mechanics of “precision” agriculture and how their new drones can be adapted to local use, regardless of their farm size and crop type.  Drones are especially useful for reducing the time needed to spray crops on large plantations but even the smallest subsistence farmer can benefit from drone use, often by sharing use of the aircraft with other local producers.

One of the most interesting sections of the report are its detailed case studies.  For example, a potato farmer in Washington State used a drone to conduct spot pesticide spraying on his 60-hectare field, reducing insect damage by 80%.  In Japan, a rice producer earned an additional $5,425 per hectare by reducing his fertilizer consumption by 40%.  In China,“wind fields” generated by farm drones are being used to pollinate  rice fields and to shake dead flowers from fruit trees – in a fraction of the time manual laborers once performed these same tasks.

The report also surveys the global policy landscape, which increasingly favors farm drones.  For example, the EASA, Europe’s version of the FAA, is making it easier for farm drone operators to achieve “airworthiness certification,” while Germany has loosened restrictions on farm drones weighing more than 55 kgs.  In addition, the European Union is waiving some traditional restrictions on pesticide spraying by drone aircraft, owing to their ability to limit its scope and to minimize spray drift.

The DJI report also documents the role the company is playing in testing farm drone applications to arrive at best practices for use in China and abroad.  DJI is also working closely with China’s Civil Aviation Administration to develop better performance and safety standards for approval of agricultural drones.  DJI’s farm drones are the industry’s recognized leader, but another company, XAG is coming up strong.  Together the two account for 80% market share and are treating an estimated 45% of China’s farmland.  The market for agricultural drones in China is now estimated at USD 470.4 million, with a CAGR of 13.7% by the year 2033.