AgriBusiness Global SE Asia Conference Highlights Regional Drone Adoption and Drone Formulation
9 November 2023 The AgriBusiness Global SE Asia Conference kicked off a second day with an exciting line up of presenters, panel discussions, prize giveaways, and business deals on the exhibit floor. Many of the discussions included ag tech, specifically about drones.
Starting the panel discussions, Amro Ni, International Sales Director for XAG and Xuemin Wu, Professor of National Pesticide Formulation and Adjuvant Laboratory for the China Agricultural University discussed trends in ag tech adoption and drone formulation in Southeast Asia.
Ni stated that while many Southeast Asian growers may farm smaller lots, drones can still be useful in helping to reduce water consumption, pesticide use, and reduce labor costs. In commenting about rental versus owning drones, he said the region’s growers prefer purchasing their own drones because of multiple uses for planting, spraying, and monitoring.
For drone formulations, Professor Wu said research and development is happening globally. However, there are problems with sprayers, droplet sizes and efficacy that still need to be addressed, which is why drone formulation remains an opportunity in this region.
Dr. Piyatida Pukclai presented on regulations and agreed with Professor Wu in saying the region was looking for appropriate pesticides and adjuvant for drone spraying application.
She said the Philippines expected to have guidelines and regulations for ag drone operation and have a list of pesticides for drone application.
Vietnam published standards for spraying pesticides by using drones. This standard is the first document guiding the registration and deployment of drones in agricultural and a legal basis for registration of pesticides used by drones.
Malaysia has a list of pesticides and other substances which can be used for ag drone. Thailand and Indonesia will have guidelines for agricultural drone operation in the near future.
Other presenters like Lawrence Wu, Head of Asia Pacific for AMVAC Singapore Pte Ltd., during his presentation about managing volatile market dynamics, spoke on precision ag technologies. For drone application, he said, “Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and stewardship is essential.” With the technology creating efficient use of farming inputs creating more yield with less labor, less fertilizers, and less pesticides.
During the adjuvant panel, Om Dhande, Regional Sales Manager for Croda, and Fernando Lopez, Asia Pacific Lead for Lamberti, discussed the use of adjuvants for assisting with regional droughts and assisting in drift reduction with drone use.
Wrapping up the conference, David Li, Marketing Director of SPM Biosciences, Pukclai, and Dr. Peter Chalmers, Senior Partner of AgBioScout discussed key points and takeaways from the two-day conference.
Chalmers said that the region grows 65% of the worlds food and has three countries with the highest population. It’s a region full of potential and growth.
Li said that while the region is filled with many different countries, languages, and cultures, we all have so much to teach each other and can advance agriculture through shared information.
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