At Agrishow 2025 in Sao Paulo, the Chinese drone manufacturer DJI Agriculture unveiled its yearly report. The global sales leader, Yuan Zhang, cites several reasons for this rise, claiming that more women and young people are using drones now because of research-based policies and better operator training.
Approximately 400,000 DJI ag drones are used worldwide, partly because governments have loosened bureaucratic regulations and streamlined approval procedures. Additionally, there is a rising tendency towards streamlining licensing and standardising pilot training. Because of this, farmers are moving from using drones for limited field testing to official integration by extending their use beyond specific crops.
Niki Shen, head of DJI’s marketing for agriculture, says the company has seen “significant growth year over year in drone usage for agriculture on a global scale. … The core driver of adoption has been the proven results: better efficiency, lower operational cost, and higher yields.”
While drone adoption is picking up pace, farmers are still facing headwinds. Spray drift is tempering the technology’s expansion, but not as much as expected. Based on studies, drones exhibit similar drift patterns to large ground-based machines because they operate at similar heights.
And there are workarounds, such as limiting operations to low wind speed conditions and adjusting droplet size. A direct correlation exists between flight speed and drift, too. The faster drones fly, the longer the drift distance under crosswind conditions.
“Considering climate change and resource constraints, agricultural drones enable farmers to practice precision farming and work more efficiently,” Shen says.
“Agricultural drones deliver better efficiency, lower operation costs, and higher yields, especially compared to traditional crop dusters, ground rigs, and tractors. This is especially apparent in mountainous and uneven fields or after rain. Farmers can treat crops on any terrain with drones without waiting for the ground to dry.”
According to recent USDA research, advancements in lidar technology and 3D multispectral imagery, which enhance crop monitoring, forest management, and yield prediction accuracy, are partially responsible for using drones.
Advances in camera technology, which can detect changes in variables like soil moisture, allow farmers to monitor their crops more closely.
Source: FarmProgess
Image Credit: DJI
