Staff Reporter
Islamabad
China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has purchased 12 T16 high-tech farm drones from DJI and donated to help Pakistan combat locusts. One T16 drone can spray insecticides over 10 hectares of farms every hour, China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported on Friday, said a message received here from Beijing.
The operator can control five drones at the same time without actually being on the field. ‘China reacted fast to the locust disaster in Pakistan and sent a special task force to investigate the crisis,’ said Ma Hongtao, counsel of the ministry, during a handover ceremony recently held in Pakistani Embassy in Beijing. The ministry also promised to send technical support staff to operate the drones and train local operators.
Ma expressed her wish that the locust and coronavirus situation will end soon. T16 is one of the most advanced agricultural drones made by DJI.
The Shenzhen-based company has been researching the use of drones in farms for years. ‘Compared to traditional manual spraying, using drones it’s safer,’ said Yasha Chen, DJI Sales Director, referring to the fact that with drones, people are not in direct contact with the pesticides.
‘The T16 can also dodge obstacles automatically,’ he added. The Pakistan side expressed gratitude for China. ‘In addition to the drones, we also received 300,000L of pesticide spray,’ said Ahmed Farooq, charge d’affaires of the embassy. ‘This is one event, and it’s not the only event,’ he went on saying. ’Once again, we proved with actions that China and Pakistan are friends,’ Ma said. Pakistan, among the countries that have been suffering from locusts since last year, declared a national emergency back in February.
