中國經濟網 | Chinese drones join battle against locust in Pakistan
時間：2020-02-26
Last Updated: 2020-02-22 21:57 | CE.cn
Drone manipulator Fawad Sahab is flying Saiying SY141HR to spray pesticides. [Photo provided to China Economic Net]
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 22 (China Economic Net) - As locusts descend on parts of Pakistan, drones are flying low over Dera Ismail Khan (D.I. Khan), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province to spray pesticides so as to help bring the outbreak under control.
According to local dealers, these multi-rotor drones are from Sunwin Intelligent, an AI products producer based in China. “Compared with manual spraying and manned aircraft spraying, they are more flexible, more convenient, and less costly,” says the drone manipulator Fawad Sahab. Hours after the spraying, the locusts were dozy and dying, lying scattered on the ground.
Sources from Sunwin Intelligent told CEN that the drones named Saiying SY141HR are designed for agricultural plant protection. This batch of machines had access to local market last March, with Islamabad as its key market.
The drone is spraying pesticides on the tree. [Photo provided to China Economic Net]
“Pakistan is one of the most important countries involving into the Belt and Road Initiative. We have mobilized our resellers to tackle the locust swarm by our products as the desert locust crisis happened. Right now our company is committed to helping locals use our drones to spray pesticides, and relevant measures will be taken soon,” says its Publicity Manager.
As per the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a swarm of locusts has migrated to Sindh, Pakistan’s second-largest cotton producing province in the summer of 2019, damaging produce in parts of the country. The swarm had grown to a massive size in November, raising fears that more crops and fields would be plagued. Balochistan, Punjab and urban areas like Karachi were hit by locust attacks so far. The federal government has declared an emergency this month to combat locusts.
China has rich experience in locust control, and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing said that Chinese technical experts’ delegation will arrive in Islamabad soon to start evaluation of the locust situation at the meeting with Minister for National Food Security and Research Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtyar on Tuesday.
