Indeed, drones are being used to spray fertilisers and pesticides on crops, speeding up processes and reducing reliance on manual labour.
For farmer Mohd Yazid Yusrah, 41, UAVs have become an essential tool throughout various stages of cultivation in his 40ha padi field in Kampung Sungai Manik here, from pesticide application to fertilisation.
“I started experimenting with drones around 2022, which means I’ve been using them for four seasons now. Initially, it was quite challenging to operate, so I limited their use to spraying pesticides,” Yazid told Bernama.
He added that he learnt to use them without formal training, relying instead on friends to teach him. “I was determined to adopt the technology, answering the government’s call to embrace innovation.”
The benefits, Yazid said, are clear: reduced costs and faster operations. “Manually, it would take over an hour just to spray pesticides on a 0.4ha plot, but with drones, it only takes 10 to 15 minutes.
“For manual spraying, you’d need four workers at RM30 per person, spraying six to eight times monthly, including fertilising.”
Despite the efficiency of the technology, Yazid remains committed to employing human labour, ensuring job continuity for his workers.
In addition, he hopes the government will raise the padi floor price from RM1,450 to RM1,800 per tonne to balance rising production costs.
“If a price increase isn’t possible, I urge the government to standardise the floor price nationwide to ensure fairness. In some regions, prices vary – for example, Perak Tengah has different rates from Sungai Manik.
“Standardising prices would help us cope with rising costs for tasks like harvesting and ploughing,” he said.
Price standardisation could further prevent potential exploitation by millers, “who initially offer RM1,800 but, during peak harvest, drop their offer to RM1,450”, Yazid pointed out.
“Yet, our investigations reveal that the same millers still pay RM1,800 to farmers in other areas,” he added, explaining that this lack of standardisation leads to losses for farmers who are already facing high production costs.
Yazid said he is among more than 400 young farmers in Sungai Manik who have appealed to the government to help them sustain their livelihoods.