In order to reduce the burden on aging farmers, a demonstration experiment was conducted using a drone to sow buckwheat seeds in a buckwheat production area in Kyoto Prefecture.
Kyoto Prefecture's Nantan Regional Development Bureau and others are promoting the introduction of "smart agriculture," which uses the latest technology to efficiently farm soba in the Tamba region of Kyoto, where farmers are aging.
Since last year, we have been working on a demonstration experiment of sowing seeds with drones.
Loaded with about 10 kilograms of seeds, the drone began dropping seeds from a height of about 7 meters into the field, covering an area of about 2000 square meters in a few minutes.
Tsuguo Nakanishi, president of the Inuamano Farming Association, who participated in the experiment, said that the time required to sow seeds was reduced to about 1/10 compared to manual sowing, saying, ``Sowing buckwheat seeds is a hot season for the elderly. It would be a big burden for us, so it would be helpful if we could use drones."
Buckwheat will be harvested around October, so local farmers will see how much they can harvest and then consider whether to introduce drones.