Aerial Application Case: Helping Vietnamese farmers use agricultural drones

In the 3rd "Vietnam Mekong Delta Entrepreneurship Competition", Lâm Chongyi from Dong Thap Province stood out from nearly 1,000 candidates and won the second prize in the competition with a prize of VND 20,000,000 for the project "Vietnam Agricultural Drone Aerial Application Service".

 

The third person from the right is Lâm Chongyi

 

When he stood on the podium, Lâm Chongyi recalled the first time he used the DJI MG-1P agricultural drone six months ago: "A new journey began.”

 

 

From an employee to an entrepreneur: The first provider of aerial application services in Dong Thap Province

 

Behind the applause and honor of the successful entrepreneur is the hard work of countless days and nights. Every morning before 5:00 am, Lâm Chongyi and his teammate set off with two MG-1P drones. Under the reddish sky, two motorcycles drove into the paddy fields. As the remote control said "Flight Starts", the sleeping farmland was awakened.

 

 

Lâm Chongyi was the first to introduce drones to Dong Thap Province in Vietnam. He previously worked for the local agriculture authority after graduating from the university with a master's degree. In early 2019, he learned about drone-based aerial application by chance on the Internet, which inspired his passion for creation and change: "Agriculture is the largest industry in Vietnam, and I see the future of Vietnam's agriculture in the drone-based aerial application.”

 

Group photo of Lâm Chongyi with farmers

 

Vietnam is a major exporter of agricultural products in Southeast Asia and the second-largest exporter of rice and coffee in the world. However, agriculture development in Vietnam faces many challenges, such as small scale, weak infrastructure, and an aging workforce. Therefore, the introduction of drones opens new horizons for agricultural operations in Vietnam.

 

 

Agricultural operations in Vietnam

 

However, the promotion of drone-based aerial application was not as simple as expected: "Farmers are very conservative, so it is the biggest challenge to win their trust.”

 

In order to assuage the doubts of farmers, Lâm Chongyi went to many villages in Dong Thap Province to provide free aerial application services with the MG-1P. During each demonstration, Lâm Chongyi always placed water-sensitive paper in advance to test the spray performance.

 

Testing the performance with water-sensitive paper after the demonstration

 

The evenly distributed droplets on the water-sensitive paper proved the efficacy of the drone-based aerial application. Compared with manual operations, the agricultural drone works smartly and efficiently, using 90% less water. Through dedication and diligence, Lâm Chongyi gradually won the trust of Vietnamese farmers, who began to embrace the novel ideal of drone-based aerial application.

 

In less than 6 months, Lâm Chongyi and his team performed aerial application on about 4,000 hectares of farmland, serving various crops such as rice and corn in southern Vietnam and putting the latest technologies into practice in Vietnamese fields.

 

 

From exploration to leadership: Build a platform for further innovation

 

With his down-to-earth efforts, Lâm Chongyi not only won the trust of farmers, but also the recognition of investors in the field.

 

Lâm Chongyi believes that smart agriculture is the trend of the future and views China's aerial application practices as an example to follow. However, in the Vietnamese market, an innovative business model is still needed.

 

Lâm Chongyi gave on-site explanations during the competition

 

"What I care most about is finding a way to really help farmers through aerial application services," Lâm Chongyi said. Although the concept of the "Sharing Economy" has lost some of its hype, unified agricultural data service platforms will be the industry trend. To this end, Lâm Chongyi will build a shared platform, through which he can collect operation data, formulate unified operating specifications, and manage services. In this way, he can provide farmers with more scientific aerial application solutions and help to improve the yield and quality of agricultural products.

 

 

DJI Agriculture in Vietnam

 

DJI Agriculture officially entered the Vietnamese market in 2017. After four years of market cultivation, the agriculture drones from DJI Agriculture have obtained a share of 60% in the Vietnamese market and will continue to grow rapidly.

 

 

With the establishment and development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and the support of multi-level cooperation between China and Vietnam based on the Belt and Road Initiative, Two Economic Corridors and One Economic Circle around the Beibu Gulf, and “One Axis and Two Wings”, economic and trade cooperation between the two countries is becoming increasingly closer. As the result, Vietnam will become an important partner for the food security and agricultural trade of China in the future, and DJI Agriculture will play an important role in promoting the rapid development of agricultural technologies in Vietnam.