English
لالعربية
When will crop protection drones be able to achieve household use?
release time:
2026-09-18
In recent years, the development of agricultural drones has been thriving. Howev
In recent years, the development of agricultural drones has been thriving. However, the agricultural drone industry in China is still in its infancy. When will agricultural drones become a common and essential agricultural machinery in every household, farm, and agricultural cooperative?
There are primarily three issues that hinder the development of crop protection drones as household agricultural machinery: The prohibitive price of crop protection drones is one of the key factors currently preventing the vast majority of large agricultural households from using them. Currently, most provinces in China have begun to experiment with the use of crop protection drones, but few provinces are eligible for "agricultural machinery subsidies". Secondly, there are over 100 domestic manufacturers of crop protection drones, and their product prices vary widely, but generally range from 50,000 to 200,000 yuan. Some potential customers are deterred by the high prices.
Not long ago, six provinces and cities including Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hunan, Guangdong, and Chongqing were selected to carry out pilot projects for subsidizing crop protection drones. This marks a breakthrough development, but there is still a long way to go before crop protection drones are fully included in the national subsidy program. The transition from pilot projects to full implementation will inevitably be a challenging process.
The supporting services for crop protection drones lag behind. Currently, crop protection drones in China suffer from the drawbacks of "uneven industry strength and insufficient supporting services". Firstly, with the gradual rise of civilian drones in recent years, crop protection drone manufacturing enterprises have emerged across the country. However, the distribution of the related supporting industrial chain is uneven, so farmers encountering issues such as damaged product parts during the use of crop protection drones cannot get timely repairs or face high repair time costs. Secondly, crop protection drone insurance services have just emerged this year and are not as mature as insurance services in the automotive industry. They still need to be continuously improved.
Industry standards are not yet perfected. Some experts indicate that China's crop protection drone industry has already taken off, but currently, there are no clear industry standards within the sector, including standards for drone technology, performance, and crop protection. This has led to a mixed bag of drone companies, and the government is unable to introduce precise support and assistance policies. It is understood that only a handful of provinces in China have explicitly issued technical standards related to civilian drones, with Shenzhen being the only city to have established a relatively comprehensive standard system for civilian drones across various business types.
When will agricultural drones become a must-have agricultural machinery for households, just like "family cars"?
Looking back at the development history of automobiles, we seem to gain some insights from it. Before 1998, cars in China only had the attribute of "unit", and the number of personal family cars was extremely scarce. However, since the gradual opening of the household car market in 2002, the decline in car purchase costs has made many people eager to try. Looking at today's automotive market, family cars are dazzling with various options, offering excellent performance at affordable prices. Cars seem to have become a necessity for families.
Looking back at the current market for agricultural drones, it's akin to the automotive industry before 1998, where the era of personal ownership was still far off. Agricultural drones must strive to reduce costs and operational complexity, rather than blindly pursuing maximized operational efficiency and payload. Only when agricultural drones become accessible to every household, akin to "family cars" in the agricultural sector, can they truly unlock the goldmine presented by the market and policies.
In short, crop protection drones should not be designed for professional aerial spraying organizations and large-scale farms. They are simply flying sprayers that should enter every family farm, agricultural cooperative, and large-scale grower, becoming one of the conventional and essential agricultural machines.
label:
related news
