Farmers in part of Shanxi Province in northern China flew drones over their orchards to spray pesticides on the trees and saved money in the process, according to the state news agency, Xinhua. It quoted a 60-year-old farmer as saying the drones “are a godsend.”
The farmer, Liu Xinzhu, said his son was working in the city and his wife was not healthy enough to work in the one-acre apple orchard. Xinhua said farmers have turned to drones to make up for a growing shortage of farm labor. The drones in Shanxi Province sprayed pesticide 15 times faster than manual laborers, and Liu said the cost was 1,000 yuan less than he would have paid to workers.
Some Chinese government experts say the potential for agricultural drones would reach 100 billion yuan a year, or $14.5 billion, according to the South China Morning Post. Drones also may reduce use of pesticides and fertilizers.