Agrodrones in Belarusian Fields: How Drones Are Changing Agriculture
Drones have long ceased to be exclusively military technology or a means for aerial photography. Around the world, they are becoming a common tool for farmers, and in recent years, they can increasingly be seen over Belarusian fields.
Around the world, agrodrones are used for spraying fields, applying fertilizers, creating precise terrain maps, assessing yields, and monitoring crop development. Such technologies have already become an integral part of the concept of precision agriculture, which allows for reducing costs, saving resources, and increasing production efficiency.
Belarus is also gradually joining this trend. As Anatoly Linevich, the then Minister of Agriculture and Food, boasted in 2024, agrarians used drones to study terrain, determine yields, and apply fertilizers.
In 2025, in the Shklov district, in a cornfield, the desiccation technology (pre-harvest drying of plants) using agrodrones was demonstrated to Alexander Lukashenka. It was then reported that drones are also used for applying desiccants to fields with rapeseed, sunflower, grain, and legume crops.
One of the Belarusian developers of agrodrones is the joint Belarusian-Chinese company "Aviation Technologies and Complexes". It produces several models of drone-sprayers.
According to the developers, the main advantages of such equipment are the absence of technological tracks, the ability to work on complex terrain and waterlogged soil, use at night, and high processing accuracy. Due to the fact that the drone does not flatten crops, yields can increase by 6–8%.
The lineup of Belarusian agrodrones includes models with tanks from 20 to 50 liters, with a productivity of 6 to 18 hectares per hour, depending on the modification.
In addition to the sprayers themselves, the company offers a separate drone for field digitalization. It creates electronic terrain maps, defines plot boundaries, marks prohibited zones, and prepares flight missions for agrodrones.
According to the manufacturer, agrodrones have already undergone practical testing in more than 30 farms in Brest, Grodno, Vitebsk, and Minsk regions.
Not Instead of a Tractor, But Together With It
However, the practical experience of Belarusian farms shows that agrodrones are not yet considered a complete replacement for traditional self-propelled sprayers.
For example, in OAO "Kukhchytsy" of the Kletsk district, drones have been used since 2022 on rapeseed crops. Here, they are employed not instead of "ROSA" type machines, but as an additional tool when ground equipment cannot timely process all fields or when the use of wheeled machines could damage crops.
The agrodrone itself, used in Kukhchytsy, is capable of processing about four hectares in ten minutes or approximately 200 hectares per work shift. Before each flight, the operator creates an electronic field map, notes obstacles, receives a task from the agronomist, and sets flight parameters — height, processing width, and droplet size.
Farmers also use agrodrones to process their fields.
Despite their obvious advantages, agrodrones have not yet become a common sight in Belarusian fields and a daily tool for agronomists.
The first reason is economic. The cost of the drones themselves, batteries, charging equipment, and software remains quite high. Therefore, many farms, like OAO "Kukhchytsy", do not purchase their own agrodrones but use the services of specialized companies.
The second factor is regulatory. Following increased control over drone use, agricultural enterprises must comply with a number of requirements related to the operation of unmanned aerial systems.
At the same time, the capabilities of agrodrones are much broader than the tasks they currently perform in Belarus. Worldwide, drones not only apply plant protection products and fertilizers but also monitor crops using multispectral cameras, detect disease and pest outbreaks even before they are visually noticeable, assess plant nitrogen levels, locate areas with moisture deficiency, and control irrigation efficiency.
In livestock farming, drones are used to monitor large pasture areas, locate animals, and monitor their condition. In horticulture and viticulture, they help assess the development of individual trees or bushes, and in some countries, they are already being tested for precise plant pollination.
If these technologies are gradually implemented in Belarus, agrodrones could become not only an effective tool for spraying fields but also a versatile assistant in various branches of agriculture.
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