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The world’s model farms

China and Southeast Asia

Drones over Asia’s rice

In China, ag drones treat about 30 million hectares a year; Vietnam has about 7,000 of them. Small fields, water and heat: where a tractor gets stuck, a drone flies over.

A drone demonstration in a rice field, the Philippines
Photo: Christopher Hedreyd - PIA 4A CALABARZON · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
An ag drone in Israel
Photo: Agridrones Solutions Israel · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
A drone over a rice field in Malaysia
Photo: Jazlihassan · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Numbers

  • China: more than 300,000 ag drones and ≈30.7 million ha treated a year (2025).
  • Worldwide: more than 600,000 DJI ag drones in 100+ countries (company data, end of 2025).
  • XAG P150 Max: an average of 20–24 ha an hour and an 80 kg payload (manufacturer data, 2026).
  • Vietnam: about 7,000 ag drones; treatment costs ≈120,000 dong per hectare (2026).
  • Owning a drone beats hiring one from ≈400 ha treated a year (University of Missouri, 2025).
Sources (7)

What to learn

Garden

A garden doesn’t need a drone: on a 600 m² plot a backpack sprayer is faster.

Farm

Below ≈400 ha treated a year, hire a service rather than buy your own drone.

Agribusiness

Plan for 20–25 ha an hour, not the advertised 35; budget for batteries and charging, another ≈30%.

Video

A video search on third-party platforms — it opens in a new tab.

YouTube

Other farms

Netherlands · Westland

Dutch greenhouses

×13

tomato yield vs. the world average

Read more Photo: Rob Oo from NL · CC BY 2.0
Spain · Almeria

Almeria’s sea of greenhouses

€4.1 billion

in fruit and vegetable exports, 2024/25 season

Read more Photo: NASA · Public domain
Israel · Arava and Negev

Israel’s water

≈90%

of treated wastewater goes to irrigation

Read more Photo: Eddau · CC BY-SA 3.0