Need strict regulations to manage agricultural flying equipment

In the Mekong Delta, according to the local agricultural industry, agricultural drones are one of the technical solutions to help farmers reduce labor costs and ensure health by limiting exposure to pesticides.

In Kien Giang province, Mr. Le Huu Toan, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of this province, assessed that the use of agricultural flying equipment has been promoting efficiency, helping to reduce production costs, thereby establishing a groups and cooperatives participate in applying this equipment to production. However, Mr. Toan affirmed that "currently we are in trouble".

The "entanglement" here pointed out by Mr. Toan is the problem of training "pilots" to control agricultural aircraft, the state management of this equipment, and especially currently, agricultural flying equipment is not yet included in the list of equipment for agricultural production.

"Training technicians to operate agricultural aircraft and how to get them certified must be considered very important," Mr. Toan stated.

Sharing the same view, Mr. Truong Kien Tho, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Giang province, said there should be a workshop to evaluate the current use of agricultural drones in the Mekong Delta provinces. In addition, An Giang and Kien Giang provinces are two localities adjacent to the border, so they are susceptible to military and political issues. Therefore, it is necessary to have strict management and clear legal status so that not all people can freely buy and use agricultural flying equipment.

According to Dr. Tran Ngoc Thach, director of the Mekong Delta Rice Institute, currently, the National Agricultural Extension Center has worked with some businesses. It is conducting trials to adjust the usage and specifications of the rice. Agricultural flying equipment such as flight altitude, spray level...

Also, the Mekong Delta Rice Institute has a cooperation program with a domestic unit to provide agricultural flying equipment completely free of charge. At the Mekong Delta Rice Institute, a center for aircraft maintenance and repair is also built.

"The immediate form is to lend the aircraft, without charge, if damaged, then bring it to the Institute for maintenance, repair, and replacement. We do not have to spend money to buy it. The main purpose of this program is to train the team and be ready to train the operating technicians; encourage farmers and cooperatives to strongly apply agricultural drones in production and management of pesticide spraying," said Mr. Thach.

This program currently supports Can Tho city with 6 agricultural drones, Hau Giang province with 3 devices, and An Giang with 3 devices. There are already ten agricultural flying machines at the Mekong Delta Rice Institute, ready to serve the local needs and expected to expand further.

The Mekong Delta Rice Institute will supervise all work related to the operation, maintenance, and maintenance of agricultural flying equipment.

"All of these flying devices, when turned on, show the parameters of flight range, flight position... To facilitate the management of the units, the Institute also reworked the management and control process to check the honesty of the units", Mr. Thach added.

Regarding the training and issuance of practice certificates for pilots of agricultural aircraft, Mr. Thach said that it is expected that the Mekong Delta Rice Institute will organize training for 12 members of the flight crew of Can Tho City. Poetry and flight certification.

A crew usually has three pieces of agricultural flying equipment (two for operation, one backup). The first drone met the criteria. Then the second drone continued to fly. The backup drone is used when there is a problem. Equipment is currently being recommended to serve farmers to reduce costs and labor. Create conditions for service units to expand, solve the problem of pesticide spraying, and ensure the environment and farmers' health.