Drones, 5G, data analytics, and quick finance smarten agriculture, help ensure adequate food supply even during the epidemic; and unmanned aerial vehicles double up as disinfection devices
As the nation convulsed through the COVID-19 outbreak last month, China, with the world's largest population－over 1.4 billion－to feed, realized how crucial stable and secure agriculture is for society and economy.
At no time is the value and importance of adequate nutritious food, and its distribution across society, more obvious than during crises－and the novel coronavirus-stricken China is still well placed to meet the challenge, thanks to innovative technologies like farm drones, agricultural sector experts said.
China is looking beyond familiar recourses like fertilizers, pesticides, scientific techniques for higher yields, and imports to make farm produce not only adequate and economy-stabilizing but profitable for farmers, they said.
Custom-built drones are playing a critical role in the battle to ensure farm production levels are maintained at a reasonable level for adequate food supply to the nation at all times.
What's more, farm drones are doubling up as disinfectant sprayers at public places to reduce infections during the ongoing battle against the virus.
China's expertise in farm drone technologies was not achieved overnight. It took years of hard work, long-term vision, meticulous planning and big investments to ensure the game-changing technologies were adopted across the country, experts said.
The home-made high-tech aerial vehicles have been smartening China's agriculture, a sector that accounts for less than 10 percent of gross domestic product (which reached 99.09 trillion yuan or $14.14 trillion in 2019).
Farm drones are widely used for seeding, spraying fertilizers and pesticides. They help increase efficiency and manageability in plant protection and grain production, sector experts said.
With the modernization of agriculture, the demand for advanced farming devices has been growing significantly.
The Chinese government has also announced policies and measures to promote the use of modern agricultural machinery. These include subsidies to encourage the use of farm drones.
