– After the spread of COVID-19, the demand for agricultural drones capable of unmanned work has increased
– It is expected to be a solution to the decrease in productivity caused by the rapidly aging rural population.
After the corona epidemic, the demand for unmanned work has spread in various fields in China, and as the demand for unmanned work has also increased in the agricultural sector, agricultural drones have emerged. Recently, due to the re-spread of Corona, the use of agricultural drones that can be farmed more efficiently than directly inputting manpower is steadily increasing. In addition, as farmland has grown in size, it is possible to efficiently farm a large area with a small number of manpower, so the demand for agricultural drones has greatly increased.
An aging population has also promoted the adoption of agricultural drones. According to a research report published by the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in 2021, 60% of the rural population in China is over 20 years old, and the proportion of the population over 65 years old is 13.82%, reaching the standards of an aging society. The aging of the population in rural areas of China is progressing at a faster rate compared to the whole of China. Agricultural drones are expected to be a solution to the problem of a decrease in the workforce due to the aging population in rural areas.
China Agricultural Drone Supply Status and Market Status
China's drone market, like other countries, started with military drones, but the civilian drone market has grown rapidly since 2016. Agricultural drones occupy the largest share in China's civilian drone market. According to data from the Qianzan Industrial Research Institute in 2020, agricultural drones occupy 42% of the Chinese civilian drone market.
The number of agricultural drones in China continues to increase. The number of agricultural drones possessed increased from 2016 units in 6500 to 2019 units in 5, and the number of agricultural drones owned has expanded to more than 5000 types. The cultivated area using agricultural drones amounted to about 170 square kilometers. In 56, China's agricultural drone stock will exceed 2021.
Since 2015, the size of the Chinese agricultural drone market has increased every year, reaching 2019 billion yuan (about 46 billion won) in 6000. In 8700, demand increased significantly due to various influences such as Corona and the development of 2020G technology, and the market size expanded to about 5 billion yuan (about 67 trillion won).
Existing agricultural drones have been mainly used for tasks such as pest control and fertilizer application, but as smart agriculture technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things are applied to agricultural drones in various ways, the scope of use such as crop management, sowing, and fruit tree management has increased. is getting wider In addition, as the government is providing subsidies for the purchase of drones as part of the modernization of agriculture, the market will continue to expand. According to Frost&Sullivan, a global research firm, the Chinese agricultural drone market will reach 2021 billion yuan (about 131 trillion won) in 2, and the market size will expand to 4500 billion yuan (about 2026 trillion won) by 250. predicted to be
<Changes in China Agricultural Drone Market Size>
(Unit: billion yuan)
[Source: Frost & Sullivan]
Agricultural drone trends
The world's first agricultural drone was the R-1987 model released by Yamaha, Japan in 50. The R-50 is a helicopter-type drone, and compared to the multicopter-type drones that make up the main drone market in recent years, it is difficult to control and the price is high, so there is a barrier to entry. After that, as Chinese drone manufacturers entered the agricultural drone market, the use of agricultural drones in China increased significantly around 2016. Products mainly sold in 2016 are equipped with autonomous driving and automatic pesticide spraying functions, making them easier to use than helicopter-type drones. The price is also lower compared to existing products, lowering the barrier to entry. At that time, DJI's MG-1S product was sold at the price of 2000 million won or less, while the price of the improved model of the Yamaha R-50 reached about 1 million won.
The latest products released in 2022 are equipped with various functions that combine big data and 5G technology. In addition, it is equipped with a high-performance camera and sensor system to enable more accurate work. The spraying performance has also been improved, and the usage such as sowing has increased. The power system is also equipped with a gasoline and electric dual system, so it can work for a long time. As such, in recent years, various technologies have been installed to enable careful work, and the loading capacity has been expanded, so products with high work efficiency are being sold.
<Main agricultural drone products and features by year>
[Source: Homepage by manufacturer, KOTRA Hangzhou Trade Center organized]
Chinese government support policy
The Chinese government is making efforts to modernize agriculture and rural areas through various policy supports. For the mechanization and modernization of agricultural equipment, various policy supports such as subsidies, tax cuts, and financial support are provided for the introduction of automation equipment including drones. In February 2022, the State Council issued the <2th Five-Year Agricultural Rural Modernization Promotion Plan>. As the plan includes content such as improving productivity through agricultural technology development, demand for drones in rural areas is expected to continue steadily.
<Policy for supporting agricultural drones in China from 2018 to 2021>
[Source: Organized by KOTRA Hangzhou Trade Center]
Promising Areas for Agricultural Drones to Enter
In 2021, 80% of agricultural land in Xinjiang was controlled by drones. In Chongqing, on the other hand, this proportion is only 1%. Chongqing City is known to have difficulty in mechanizing agriculture due to its small agricultural land and large population. It can be seen that a large plain area in China and an area with a small agricultural population are favorable environments for introducing agricultural drones. According to a study by Ipsos, a British research institute, the use of agricultural drones was high in Xinjiang, Heilongjiang, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Jiangxi, Guangdong and Qinghai. In addition, since most regions in China are offering various support policies such as subsidies, it is expected that the introduction of drones in Chinese agriculture will be active in the future.
Agricultural drone development direction and implications
Professor Lan Yubin of Huanan Agricultural University (华南农业大学) said, “Agricultural drones have been widely used in China since 2017 because agricultural drones are very effective when large-scale pests and pests occur.” He also analyzed, “Although China’s agricultural drone technology is developing rapidly, many companies are competing in the Chinese market, which is driving down the price.” In addition to competition among drone manufacturers, the supply of agricultural drones in China is expected to expand as the price is kept low compared to the performance based on various subsidy policies of the Chinese government.
Currently, agricultural drones are mainly used for control work in China, but in the future, they will be used in more diverse and in-depth fields such as orchard management, sowing, and crop management through image shooting and data analysis. In the future, the development direction of agricultural drones is expected to become important in the hardware sector in terms of loading capacity and injection system, in the software sector, altitude maintenance and positioning technology, and land classification technology. In this regard, products with excellent technology will have a competitive edge in the Chinese agricultural drone market. Accordingly, the possibility of cooperation with major Chinese drone manufacturers and companies with excellent products and technology is expected. Recently, in Korea, direct wave systems, sensors for exploration, parts for flight control, and drone communication technologies using mobile communication networks are being actively developed to strengthen drone technology competitiveness. In the future, opportunities to cooperate with major Chinese manufacturers and competitive Korean companies are expected to expand.
<Future drone technology development direction>
[Source: Xun Wang Teng (腾讯网), Korea Institute of Science and Technology Planning and Evaluation, KOTRA Hangzhou Trade Center Organized]
Agricultural drones not only increase production efficiency, but also have the advantage of realizing social value. Watering crops using agricultural drones can save up to 90% of water compared to normal. In addition, the low-dose spraying method has an advantage in environmental protection by lowering the pesticide use rate by 40%.
Agricultural drones are a solution that can not only meet the demand for unmanned labor in rural areas, but also achieve agricultural efficiency in a declining labor force due to an aging population. In addition, it has an advantage in terms of environmental protection by significantly lowering the use of pesticides and water, so the demand for agricultural drones in China is expected to increase steadily.
Data Source: Frost&Sullivan, Ipsos, Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation, manufacturer website, Teng Xunwang and KOTRA Hangzhou Trade Center