Technology Meets Tradition: Drones Used in Rice Farms

In Vietnam, traditional rice farming has undergone a technology upgrade; drones now fly over the fields, scattering seeds, spraying pesticides, or spreading fertilizer, allowing people to engage in farming without physical strain.

“I am still surprised at how quickly the popularity of drones has grown in the area in recent years,” says Lê Quốc Trung, who, in 2021, partnered with Chinese agricultural technology company XAG to bring agricultural drones equipped with AI to the Mekong Delta region.

XAG offers farmers two options: buy a drone and operate it autonomously or hire pilots to provide the machine and manage operations. Several other companies supply agricultural drones to the area, with an estimated 4,000 currently in operation. Hopefully, drones will improve working conditions and limit the spread of rice diseases. Vietnam is one of the world’s largest rice producers, and 50% of the country’s rice crop grows in the delta of the Mekong River, which drains into the South China Sea.