Digital rice farming using drones takes off in PH

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RICE farmers are pushing drone technology to increase yields and lower production costs.

Using drones to plant seeds and apply fertilizers and pesticides in rice fields is being encouraged by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and the International Rice Research Institute.

The Drone4Rice project is funded by the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Bureau of Agricultural Research.

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The DA has included drones in the P22.903-billion financial assistance intended for hybrid seeds, inorganic fertilizers, biofertilizers, and discount vouchers and e-wallets.

Drone4Rice is meant to reduce the need for manual labor, reduce production cost and, equally important, to attract the youth to farming, said Dr. Jasper Tallada, Drone4Rice PhilRice lead.

Using drones can revolutionize rice farming as the flying machines optimize and reduce the labor and time to apply inputs, Tallada said.

For instance, a drone uses only 16 liters of spray per hectare, a world of difference from the 160 liters per hectare when applied manually by farmers using spray knapsacks, according to PhilRice.

Drone application reduces the amount of seeds used per hectare — from two to three bags to just one bag per hectare, an amount which PhilRice promotes.

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