New-generation farmers master drone technology to boost efficient agricultural production in Aksu

In September, sunny skies prevail in southern Xinjiang. In a walnut orchard in Gebi Xincun Village, Qingchuan Town, Wensu County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a plant protection drone takes off and flies low over the treetops along a preset route, evenly dispersing a fine mist of pesticide. In less than 40 minutes, the post-harvest aerial plant protection work is completed across an orchard that once took fruit growers two to three days of backbreaking work with knapsack sprayers.

"You're still the one to call for drone-based plant protection. Dozens of mu are finished so quickly, even covering every corner of the orchard," walnut grower Liu Ce said at the edge of the field, repeatedly praising the drone operator. The drone operator he referred to was Wang Jinhou, the first person in the village to obtain certification for operating plant protection drones.

Photo shows Wang Jinhou operates a plant protection drone for aerial spraying in Wensu County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Wang Jinhou, 48 years old, is short in stature with a deeply tanned face and a vigorous, resolute demeanor. Three years ago, he was an ordinary grower tending his walnut orchard and taking temporary jobs during the agricultural off-season. Today, he has become a skilled drone-based plant protection operator, covering more than 60,000 mu (about 4,000 hectares) of farmland annually and earning the reputation among local villagers as a "gold-medal drone pilot."

The change began in the summer of 2023. At the time, Wang learned that plant protection drones were being used for aerial plant-protection operations in other places and became interested in the technology. "Wensu County alone has hundreds of thousands of mu of walnut orchards. With such a large planting area, plant protection drones will undoubtedly become indispensable in the future," he said. He made a special trip to Aksu City to enroll in a training course, systematically studying subjects ranging from flight principles and route planning to pesticide and fertilizer formulation and operational safety. Through persistent effort, he mastered the full range of required techniques.

After obtaining his certification, however, Wang faced another challenge: funding the purchase of a plant protection drone. Upon learning of his plans, the work team stationed in Gebi Xincun Village, together with the village Party committee and villagers' committee, took the initiative to assist him. They helped coordinate with the agricultural machinery authorities, supported him throughout the application process for an agricultural machinery subsidy, and worked with the county agricultural technology extension center to secure him a place in a prefecture-level aerial plant protection training program. Ma Jinhuan, the village's first Party secretary and head of the work team, said, "New-generation farmers like Wang can drive industrial upgrading across the entire village once they acquire advanced technologies. We need to give them the support they need."

With the assistance of the work team, an agricultural machinery subsidy of more than 10,000 yuan (about 1,490.86 U.S. dollars) was quickly approved. Wang then contributed more than 50,000 yuan (about 7,454.30 U.S. dollars) of his own funds to purchase a plant protection drone.

However, after Wang purchased the plant protection drone, local farmers were initially unconvinced. "Is this thing really reliable?" "It flies so high. Can it spray the pesticide evenly?" In response to these doubts, Wang gave a live demonstration at a village science and technology training session. The drone took off, changed direction, and sprayed at a constant speed, quickly completing the aerial plant protection operation over an entire field. When the farmers gathered around to inspect the results, they found that both sides of the leaves were evenly coated with fine droplets, with coverage even more uniform than manual spraying. Gradually, more and more growers began turning him for the service.

"Farming can no longer rely on physical labor alone. You need technical knowledge and the ability to operate modern equipment," Wang said. His service area soon expanded from his own village to surrounding townships, while the crops he treated broadened from walnuts to cotton, corn, and wheat. During peak operating periods, he could cover approximately 1,000 to 1,500 mu (about 66.67 to 100 hectares) per day with aerial plant protection services.

Today, an increasing number of farmers in Wensu County are becoming skilled drone operators like Wang. From precision fertilization in rice paddies and efficient aerial plant protection over wheat fields to uniform spraying between cotton rows and operations in walnut and apple orchards, the technologies of smart agriculture are spreading across Wensu's vast farmlands along the flight paths of agricultural drones.

From tilling the earth to looking up at the sky, Wang's experience demonstrates the broad possibilities that modern agriculture offers to a new generation of farmers.

(The Media Convergence Center of Aksu Prefecture, Reporter: Liu Hongwen, Correspondent: Zhao Xinchang)