Agricultural drones are taking off globally, saving farmers time and money

Belton, Ben; and Baldiga, Leo. 2025. Agricultural drones are taking off globally, saving farmers time and money. The Conversation US, first available online on October 29, 2025. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.4nmw6vkqc

Drones have become integrated into everyday life over the past decade – in sectors as diverse as entertainment, health care and construction. They have also begun to transform the way people grow food.

In a new study published in the journal Science, we show that use of agricultural drones has spread extremely rapidly around the world. In our research as social scientists studying agriculture and rural development, we set out to document where agricultural drones have taken off around the world, what they are doing, and why they have traveled so far so fast. We also explored what these changes mean for farmers, the environment, the public and governments.