Plant protection drones open commercialization mode to boost smart agriculture development

[China Agricultural Machinery Industry News] With the development of modern science and technology, the degree of application of plant protection drones varies from country to country, but in general, the proportion of drones in agricultural production is increasing. Many industry insiders believe that 2016 is the first year of plant protection drones, and the market of 100 billion plant protection drones is expected.

Plant protection drones open commercialization mode to boost smart agriculture development

Aerial photography has made the mass consumer market aware of drones, and in the field of agricultural farmland plant protection, drones have also begun to play an important role. With the acceleration of land circulation and land intensification management in China, the development of modern machinery represented by drones is very rapid.

Three major factors promote plant protection drones into a smart agricultural development focus

At present, China's agricultural plant protection drone industry is in the early stage of development. With the policy attaching importance to the plant protection drone industry and the increasing demand for smart agriculture, the prospect of China's plant protection drone industry is promising.

Social factors: the aging population superimposed population has led to a sharp decline in the rural labor force. The traditional human-intensive agricultural model is not sustainable, and “machine replacement” has become an inevitable trend of agricultural development.

Subsidy factors: Agricultural machinery subsidies are very strong, and plant protection subsidies are sufficient. In recent years, the subsidies for the purchase of agricultural machinery in the country have been very strong. Once the plant protection drone enters the national level subsidy, in order to fill the shortcomings of agricultural mechanization, the corresponding subsidies will be great.

Policy factors: In February last year, the Ministry of Agriculture issued the “Action Plan for Zero Growth of Pesticide Use in 2020”, with key tasks including the promotion of new plant protection machinery. In May of this year, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture issued the Notice on Carrying out Special Statistics on Unmanned Aircraft for Agricultural Plant Protection. In the future, the special statistics on agricultural plant protection unmanned aircraft will be carried out as an annual routine work. Mechanized management statistical reporting system scope.

Based on technology and service, plant protection drone commercialization step by step

Nowadays, plant protection drones can be distinguished from the following two aspects: according to the power division, they are divided into oil-based plant protection drones and electric plant protection drones; they are divided into fixed-wing plant protection drones according to the structure of the aircraft. Single-rotor plant protection drones and multi-rotor plant protection drones. All plant protection drones have the advantages of simple operation, large load capacity and complete service system. Industry insiders predict that plant protection drones will bring new impetus to agricultural development.

At present, the business model of plant protection drones in the domestic market is mainly divided into four types, one is to sell only products, the other is to provide services, the third is bundled sales of products and services, and the fourth is to provide solutions only for industry users.

Plant protection drones are different from consumer drones in that they are difficult to operate and have high maintenance costs, so you must be operated by a dedicated person to get a consistent and stable experience. In addition, plant protection drones also have problems of high cost, wasteful productivity and no operation. Therefore, manufacturers who only provide agricultural plant protection drones do not have any sales.

In response to the above problems, some manufacturers with technical strength began to provide agricultural plant protection services, that is, farmers do not need to purchase equipment, and can only enjoy professional agricultural plant protection services when they ask for demand from manufacturers. This business model is currently popular, and more and more agricultural plant protection drone manufacturers are adopting business models.