There are over 500 thsd agricultural drones operating worldwide

As of June 2025, more than 500,000 agricultural drones are operating worldwide. Thanks to their use, about 330 million tons of water have been saved and carbon emissions reduced by 42.58 million tons.

These figures were presented in the Agricultural Drone Industry White Paper (2024/2025), prepared by Farmers’ Daily and DJI Agriculture, reports China Daily.

Agricultural drones are no longer just an innovation but a new driver of food security. In 2024 alone, Chinese drones treated more than 173 million hectares of land, creating a $1.8 billion market and providing half a million jobs. Among the operators are more than 12,000 women, as well as young people who are increasingly returning to villages to build businesses based on new technologies.

The scope of drone applications is rapidly expanding:

• In Hubei Province, the DJI T100 drone transported 85 kg of oranges in just 2 minutes;

• In Yunnan, a drone system reduced banana transportation losses from 30% to less than 5%;

• In Sichuan, drones are helping to transport bamboo in hard-to-reach mountainous areas.

China is actively adapting its legislation: in the CPC Central Committee’s Document No. 1 for 2025, agricultural drones were classified as strategic technologies alongside artificial intelligence and big data.

Other countries are taking similar steps:

• Brazil has simplified drone registration;

• The EU has approved international spraying standards;

• The US has added several DJI models to the FAA’s list of exemptions;

• Australia has adopted more flexible rules for use on private land.

At the same time, experts emphasize that the regulatory framework still needs improvement. For example, the 30-meter flight altitude limit does not always match the scale of tasks agricultural drones are expected to perform.

Tags: drones