A drone flies over a wheat field to spray insecticide at a farm of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) in Bayan Gol Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, June 9, 2015. Photo: Xinhua

 
The number of agricultural drones used in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is expected to surpass 5,000 by the end of 2019, which will help promote production of quality crops in the region by using modern agricultural technology.

In Xinjiang, the main cotton producing area in China, the number of farming aerial surveillance drones is growing rapidly, according to the Xinjiang Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Machinery Administration. By the end of this year, the number of plant protection drones in Xinjiang is expected to exceed 5,000, taking care of 40 million mu (2.67 million hectares) of farmland there.

The plant protection UAV, also known as the agricultural spraying drone, is a new type of agricultural plant protection equipment, which has been recognized by the agriculture industry for its high efficiency, low cost, high precision of spraying and high safety performance.

The agricultural spraying drone is helpful in solving the problem of plant protection, control of forest and grassland diseases and prevention of insect pests in Xinjiang's crop and fruit industries.

Xinjiang will promote the transformation and upgrading of agricultural mechanization, including the usage of plant protection UAVs, to accelerate the harvest of major crops such as cotton and corn, and raise the quality of winter wheat sowing, according to the Agriculture Administration of Xinjiang.

Xinjiang has also carried out a pilot project to subsidize the purchase of crop protection UAVs by farmers at the end of September, a move in line with the national subsidy plan started in September 2017. 

The pilot funds, which will not exceed 10 million yuan ($1.4 million), will be allocated from the central government agricultural subsidies for purchasing agricultural machinery.

The subsidy targets are agricultural production and operation organizations engaged in plant protection operations, including farmers' collective cooperatives, agricultural machinery cooperatives, and crops protection organizations.