Start a business in the fields with drones

Mr. Doan Nhat Phuong controls a drone to spray pesticides to kill golden apple snails so that farmers can prepare to plant the 2025 Summer-Autumn rice crop in Song Cau village, Nghia Thanh commune, Chau Duc district.

Invest billions to buy drones

After returning to Long Dat, with the knowledge accumulated during his studies and his sensitivity to the trend of agricultural modernization, at the end of 2021, young engineer Doan Nhat Phuong boldly invested in 3 drones (with a spraying capacity of 10-20 liters/machine) to provide pesticide spraying services to farmers.

At that time, this device was still quite unfamiliar to local people. However, after only a short time of operation, the drones showed clear efficiency in productivity and cost, helping Mr. Phuong gain the trust of farmers. From then on, in the 2021-2022 Winter-Spring crop, Phuong's pesticide spraying service "contracted" 500 hectares of rice from farmers. In addition to spraying pesticides and water, the device can also sow and plant.

According to Mr. Phuong, when spraying, the technician only needs to stand on the edge of the field, control the drone to the rice field, press the button and it will automatically spray. The spraying speed of the machine is very high, averaging about 30 minutes/1ha. The amount of sprayed medicine is even and smooth, helping it penetrate deep into the rice plants.

The drones also integrate data collection functions through a camera system that records from above. Based on the analyzed images, dark green areas indicate that the plants are growing well; conversely, light green areas are signs that the plants lack chlorophyll and are likely to be sick. From this data, Mr. Phuong's team can help farmers identify and isolate diseased plants early for timely treatment.

Thanks to these benefits, Mr. Phuong's drone service is increasingly trusted by many farmers. Mr. Nguyen Van Hiep, in Dong Trung hamlet, Tam An commune, cultivates 1 hectare of rice with 3 crops per year, said that for the past 2 years he has hired a drone service to spray pesticides for his fields. "Since drones were available, farmers do not have to carry each bottle of pesticides directly into the fields to spray. In particular, drones help reduce 90% of water and 30% of pesticides. These benefits not only help increase efficiency and reduce costs, but most importantly, protect farmers' health," Mr. Hiep shared.

According to many farmers, the cost of renting a drone is also much lower than hiring labor. On average, each time a drone sprays pesticides, the cost is about 300,000 VND/ha, while hiring manual labor can cost up to nearly 600,000 VND/ha. This helps reduce labor pressure in rural areas in the context of increasingly scarce young and middle-aged workers and increasingly high labor costs.

Always take flight safety seriously

Currently, according to the regulations of the General Staff Department of Operations and related documents, all civil flights using unmanned devices, including drones used in agriculture, must be licensed. Operators also need to ensure their capacity, comply with requirements on flight areas, permitted altitudes and ensure aviation safety. Mr. Doan Nhat Phuong said that his flight teams are all trained in operating skills, updated on flight safety regulations and strictly follow the instructions of the authorities.

Expanding the model

In mid-2024, with the support of the Farmers' Association, Mr. Phuong mobilized like-minded members who wanted to develop high-tech agricultural services to join the establishment of the Agricultural Flight Service Cooperative Group, with more than 20 members participating. Currently, SunBright Trading-Technical Company Limited, initiated by him, owns 6 aircraft (including 2 T25s, 2 T40s and 2 T50s of 50 liters), with a total investment of nearly 4 billion VND.

To operate effectively, Mr. Phuong established 6 flying teams (2 people/team). The teams carry out the task of spraying pesticides, sowing or fertilizing when farmers in the province have a need. With 6 flying teams, each member will be in charge of different tasks from operating, controlling equipment, charging batteries, mixing chemicals. The effective operation of the flying team has created trust from local farmers. The income of members in the Cooperative Group is from 7-9 million VND/month and the income increases higher at the peak of the crop season.

Sharing his upcoming plans, Mr. Phuong said he will expand the model, establish a cooperative in 2025; expand the operating area to about 1,000 hectares of fruit trees in Long Khanh area (Dong Nai province) and rice growing area of ​​Binh Thuan province; provide agricultural materials, drones... to create more jobs for local youth.

According to Mr. Huynh Van So, Vice Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Long Dat district, Mr. Phuong's advanced model not only creates jobs for local youth but also helps farmers use the correct amount of pesticides and fertilizers, limit waste, and save input costs. Thanks to the ability to spray pesticides quickly and promptly, agricultural spraying aircraft help reduce the risk of disease, limit crop losses, save costs for pest control, and this will be a good direction in the future.

Article and photos: DINH HUNG

Source: https://baobariavungtau.com.vn/kinh-te/202505/khoi-nghiep-tren-dong-ruong-voi-drone-1043264/