Rethinking agricultural drones

Agricultural drones are gradually entering the conversation about modernising farming in Pakistan. They can assist with crop scouting, field mapping, targeted spraying, and in certain contexts, seeding. Their real value, however, lies not in serving as a stand-alone solution to the structural constraints facing agricultural productivity, but in improving specific farm operations. Given that agriculture contributes 23.4 percent to GDP and sustains a considerable portion of the labour force, technologies that enhance the timeliness, precision, and efficiency of farm services merit serious attention.

Drones can play a practical role in Pakistan’s broader shift towards precision agriculture. They can reduce the time required for selected operations, reduce farmers’ exposure to agricultural chemicals, and generate data that support more informed farm management decisions. China’s experience is instructive in this respect.

A study covering more than 2,000 grain farmers across 11 provinces recorded additional farm revenue of roughly $434 – 488 per hectare, along with labour savings of 14.4-15.8 hours per hectare in drone-assisted operations. Other studies point to lower non-pesticide operating costs, reduced time spent on pesticide handling, and better crop outcomes, though they also note that pesticide use and application frequency differ considerably from farm to farm.

The takeaway is clear: drone applications must be tested against Pakistan’s own crops, farm structures and operating conditions before any conclusions are drawn.

A workable pathway must begin with a clear regulatory and operating framework. Agricultural drone use sits at the intersection of aviation, agricultural applications, environmental safeguards, and data management, making coordination among authorities essential. A single-window agricultural unmanned aircraft system (UAS) protocol could offer applicants a single point of contact while allowing the relevant regulatory bodies to retain their respective mandates. Such a framework would need to distinguish between lower-risk sensing activities, such as imaging and mapping, and payload-release activities, such as spraying, which call for additional safeguards.

Affordability and access are equally critical. For most smallholders, owning, maintaining and upgrading a drone is simply not commercially viable. A competitive drone-as-a-service (DaaS) model would allow farmers to access these technologies as and when required, while leaving equipment, maintenance, and technical responsibility with specialised service providers. During an initial pilot phase, targeted service vouchers or co-financing arrangements could be considered when affordability constrains participation. This would allow public support to focus on learning, training, independent evaluation, and access to services, rather than subsidising equipment purchases.

Skills, awareness and data governance would round off this foundation. Farmers need practical and honest information about what drone services can and cannot do, while operators, applicators, technicians and data analysts require clearly defined roles and adequate training. Standards governing farmer consent, data security, access, retention and portability would help build trust as digital farm services gain ground. Relevant departments and cooperatives, meanwhile, can play a useful role in aggregating demand and linking smallholders with dependable service providers.

CPEC 2.0 offers a useful platform to advance this agenda through Pakistan-China cooperation on technology transfer, technical training, joint research, testing and private-sector engagement. A 24-month Agricultural Drone Pilot and Standards Programme could provide the structured mechanism needed for such cooperation. Rather than pushing for widespread deployment from the outset, the programme could test selected crop-task combinations across representative farming systems, generating evidence on operational performance, economic viability, safety and inclusion.

The pilot could reasonably run across at least two production seasons. Punjab could pilot regulated drone spraying in rice and wheat systems; Sindh could explore scouting and targeted treatment in cotton; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could assess imaging and selective application in orchards; and Balochistan could begin with mapping, crop health monitoring and irrigation diagnostics in date orchards. Taken together, these applications would offer a chance to evaluate how drone services perform across varying crops, terrain and farm structures.

The path forward can be kept fairly simple: regulate and prepare, test and evaluate, then scale what has been validated. The first phase would involve establishing operating protocols, selecting pilot locations, and implementing service-provider requirements, training, and monitoring arrangements. The second phase would generate independently assessed evidence across the chosen crop-task combinations. Wider rollout could then be reserved for applications that demonstrate sound economic, operational, safety and inclusion outcomes. In time, verified drone services could be woven into a broader digital ecosystem alongside satellite imagery, weather data, irrigation management and extension advisory platforms.

Ultimately, the goal is not merely to put more drones in the field, but to build a reliable market for genuinely useful agricultural services. With the right safeguards, locally generated evidence and a service-oriented model, agricultural drones can become one part, not the whole, of Pakistan’s emerging precision-agriculture ecosystem. CPEC 2.0 can support this transition through technology partnerships, research, training and industry collaboration, even as Pakistan’s own institutions continue to steer regulation, implementation and farmer protection.

This article draws on the research presented in the Policy View, “Responsible and Scalable Agricultural Drone Adoption in Pakistan: A CPEC 2.0 Pilot-to-Scale Pathway,” published by the Centre of Excellence for CPEC, PIDE. Readers interested in the full research, evidence and proposed implementation framework can find it in the attached link:https://pide.org.pk/research/responsible-and-scalable-agricultural-drone-adoption-in-pakistan-a-cpec-2-0-pilot-to-scale-pathway/

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026