UAVs assist farmers in Vietnam's Dien Bien

Vietnam's FPT Digital Retail JSC said on Wednesday that it had partnered with Dien Bien Province and relevant local departments and agencies to pilot UAV applications in rice fields and upland farming areas.

UAVs help farmers work on steep hillsides

At a flight demonstration, a UAV was used for sowing seeds, applying fertilizer and spraying pesticides to save water and reduce manual labor.

The UAV flew over hillsides and sprayed crops evenly within a few minutes.

Nguyen Van Tien, a farmer from Muong Ang Commune in Dien Bien, expressed his enthusiasm while watching the equipment operate.

"Previously, pesticide spraying was done manually, which took time and labor and exposed farmers to harmful chemicals because of their close contact with them. Now, seeing the UAV operate, I can see that it sprays very evenly and handles tall crops and steep, rugged plots efficiently. We hope this technology will soon be widely adopted to make farming less arduous and more efficient," he said.

Dien Bien is known for its fertile Muong Thanh rice fields, but its steep mountainous terrain, difficult transport conditions and scattered farming areas pose challenges for local agriculture.

These natural obstacles have long hindered agricultural mechanization and efforts to improve labor productivity in the province.

The partnership between businesses such as FPT Digital Retail JSC and local authorities in Dien Bien is expected to help develop a new generation of digitally equipped farmers with support from modern equipment and technologies.

UAV trials to expand to more crops

The cooperation model between FPT Digital Retail JSC and Dien Bien is designed to run for 24 months to address practical operating challenges through three phases.

The first phase involves pilot operations, field measurements and assessments of effectiveness under actual farming conditions.

The second phase will standardize operating procedures, train local personnel and transfer technical skills, while refining the service model and applying data management platforms and artificial intelligence (AI).

The third phase will expand the model by connecting with cooperatives and agricultural businesses across the province.

The trials will cover not only rice cultivation in the Muong Thanh rice-growing area but also high-value crops grown on steep terrain, including tea, coffee and macadamia.

UAVs will also be tested for transporting agricultural supplies to rugged areas that are difficult to access using conventional mechanized transport.

A representative of FPT Digital Retail JSC said the value of UAVs lay not only in the advanced equipment itself but also in their effective application in everyday life.

"Our goal is to develop an operating model best suited to Dien Bien's soil conditions and terrain, based on the principle of clearly defining responsibilities, tasks and results. This will lay the foundation for deeper and more practical digital transformation in mountainous agriculture," the representative said.