A rice farm in Rizal, Palawan recorded a harvest of 8.25 tons of palay (unmilled rice)  that was attained with the use of drones.

The high level of palay harvest,  which is two times more the national average 4.17 tons per hectare, was revealed during a recent drone seeding demonstration of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in 10 hectares of rice fields in Rizal.

The demonstration was conducted by the DA during the harvest festival under its Mimaropa Rice Program in partnership with the Rizal Municipal Agriculture Office.

The demonstration was attended by 250 farmers from different clustered farms in the town, and were encouraged by the DA to use drone technology to reduce their expenses in cultivating rice.

“Through the help of agricultural drones, the planting of unhusked rice (palay) will be easier, and farmers can save on farm inputs,” the DA said.

Through the use of a drone, about 30 to 40 kilos of palay seeds can be spread over a hectare within 10 to 15 minutes, while 15 liters of fertilizer and pesticide can be applied in about six minutes.

Around 210 hybrid cluster areas have benefited from the drone seeding service through New Hope Corporation, DA added.

The 10-hectare land in Barangay Candawaga, Rizal used in the demo was financed by the DA Mimaropa Drone Team.

Based on its website (newhopecorp.com), New Hope gets its drones from DJI of China, which it says is “widely recognized for developing intuitive flight controllers making its drones safer and easier to fly.”  

”The DJI Agras is the most reliable drone spray platform, combining aerial mapping and drone surveys to apply chemicals to high canopy crops, such as bananas and fruit trees.  The T16 and T20 models come with 16 and 20 liter tanks, respectively,” New Hope said in its website.