On July 23, 2020, in the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China formally donated 12 DJI T16 plant protection drones to the Ministry of Food Security and Research of Pakistan. These plant protection drones will be used as aid materials to help the local fight against locust plagues and protect food security.

As a technical support unit for locust control, DJI Agriculture will respond to the call of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to form a professional service team to provide technical support and flight control skills training for local drone locust control in Pakistan.

The T16 delivered this time is the first plant protection drone to land in Pakistan. This represents that China's cutting-edge intelligent agricultural equipment is entering the countries along the Belt and Road in the form of friendly international assistance to help local agriculture continue to increase productivity.

The current community of destiny in the locust plague

Since January 2020, the locust plague that began in East Africa has spread to East Africa, West Asia and South Asia, spreading to more than 10 countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Iran, Yemen, India, and Pakistan, and has become the worst in the past 20 years. The locust plague has threatened the food security of tens of millions of people.

On February 11, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations issued an early warning to the world, hoping that the world will be on high alert for the currently raging locust plague to prevent food crises in the invaded countries. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations listed it as "one of the highest priority actions."

Ahmad Farooq, Chargé d’affaires of the Pakistani Embassy in China, stated that locust plagues are not uncommon in Pakistan’s history, but they have become more serious in recent years. This year’s locust plagues are more serious than before. Our government has declared a national emergency. The locust plague has not only affected our food crops, but also affected the livelihoods of farmers. This has caused a huge blow to our country's economy and also affected our country's food security.

In order to help Pakistan effectively control the locust plague and implement the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, in conjunction with relevant domestic departments, formulated a locust plague prevention and control work plan for Pakistan, and sent a locust plague prevention and control team to Pakistan on February 23.

Subsequently, the working group conducted field investigations on locust plagues in Sindh, Balochistan, and Punjab, Pakistan, and provided technical support for the prevention and control of locust plagues. On March 5, the working group completed its mission and returned to China. According to the assistance plan agreed by the working group and Pakistan, the Chinese side will also deliver aid materials to Pakistan in batches to help Pakistan effectively control the locust plague. The aid materials include pesticide control and spraying machines.

Plant protection machine joins the locust control army

According to analysis, after the locust breeding period from April to May, Pakistan may usher in a new round of locust plague in July. In mid-July, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China purchased 12 T16 plant protection drones from DJI Agriculture as aid materials and delivered them to Pakistan to help Pakistan solve the problem of locust plague prevention.

Ma Hongtao, the first-level inspector of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, said: "The drone we are about to deliver today is another batch of locust control supplies aided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. In the future, China will follow the needs of Pakistan and the epidemic locust Provide more assistance within its capacity. DJI is the world’s leading UAV solution R&D and manufacturer. It is believed that DJI’s equipment and technology will provide strong support for Pakistan’s locust control, agricultural modernization, and economic and social revitalization. Strong support."

According to DJI, compared with ground machinery, plant protection drones have the advantages of strong maneuverability, strong terrain adaptability, and high safety. Take the DJI T16 as an example. It has a load of 16L, sprays an area of up to 150 mu per hour, and can fly fully autonomously. Using plant protection drones to control locusts can effectively improve efficiency and greatly reduce the risk of operators being exposed to pesticides.

"T16 can be recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and be selected for this aid to Pakistan. This is not only an honor, but also a responsibility. Next, we will provide a batch of accessories and professional technical training to fully cooperate with agriculture. The expert team of the Ministry of Rural Affairs completed the assistance task." said Chen Tao, Director of Global Marketing and Sales of DJI Agriculture.

This year, plant protection drones are playing an increasingly critical role in the prevention and control of locusts. In February, leveraging on the successful experience of plant protection drones in controlling locusts in Xinjiang, Shandong, and Yunnan, DJI took the lead in releasing a technical solution for locust control using drones (in Chinese and English), and provided technical solutions to relevant departments and experts in Pakistan and other countries ; In May, DJI was invited to participate in the China-Pakistan Economic and Trade Cloud Forum, and shared drone equipment and technical solutions with Pakistan at the forum.

At the end of June this year, the yellow spine locust was found migrating and entering the country in Jiangcheng County, Pu'er City, Yunnan. Subsequently, bamboo locusts continued to spread from the border to the surrounding counties. In order to curb the spread of bamboo locusts, relevant local departments in Yunnan have organized personnel to conduct prevention and control in various ways, and DJI plant protection drones have also become a prevention tool. In some areas, DJI plant protection drones have even become the main force for prevention and control.

Ahmad Farooq said, “DJI’s T16 UAV can help us solve the problem of locust plague control from all dimensions, and can be very effective in helping locust control experts in Pakistan.”

However, DJI also introduced that according to China's experience in locust control, aerial spraying by drones to prevent and control migratory migratory locusts is just the last step in the control method. To completely solve the problem of locusts, a combination of multiple methods and multiple growth periods of locusts are required to achieve the best results in comprehensive prevention and control.

China's intelligent agricultural equipment starts a new journey

In recent years, relying on the advantages of high efficiency, low maintenance cost, and high degree of intelligence, DJI's plant protection drones are gradually going abroad and going global. According to reports, at present, DJI agricultural plant protection drones are used in more than 30 countries or regions around the world, with a market share of nearly 70% in Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other places, and maintain rapid growth.

Ahmad Farooq said that under the framework of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Pakistan and China have established a joint working group in the field of agricultural cooperation. One of the most important aspects of this joint agricultural group is to strengthen cooperation and work in plant protection and pest control. And this will continue to strengthen the partnership between the two sides in the prevention and control of locust plagues.

Xu Yubo, Department of Asian and African Affairs, Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, said that today we are delivering the drone produced by DJI, which is an innovation of our work in assisting Pakistan to control locusts. We will apply China's most advanced agricultural equipment to Pakistan's locust control work.

DJI stated that the T16 delivered this time is the first plant protection drone to land in Pakistan. This represents that China's cutting-edge intelligent agricultural equipment is entering the countries along the Belt and Road in the form of friendly international assistance to help local agriculture continue to increase productivity. From imported high-end agricultural machinery to plant protection drones leading intelligent agricultural equipment to the world, China's agricultural equipment industry is embarking on a new path of development with unique Chinese characteristics.