Yamaha Motor to Enter Agricultural Drone Market

October 26, 2018

Tokyo- Yamaha Motor Co. said Friday that it will launch its first drone for agricultural use in March 2019.

The Japanese company aims to sell 500 units of the YMR-08 in 2019 and 1,000 units in 2021, amid growing demand to save labor in pesticide spraying, reflecting falls in the farming population and aging of farmers.

It aims to win a 50 pct share of the market for agricultural drones.

Yamaha Motor has managed operations involving unmanned helicopters for agricultural use for 30 years.

Drones are more suitable than helicopters for the use in relatively small farmland areas in cities and mountains, according to the company.

The YMR-08, which can spray one hectare with agricultural chemicals in a 15-munute flight on a single charge, is priced at 2,754,000 yen, the company said. A device to spray pesticides will be sold separately.

Yamaha Motor plans to hold paid seminars in 25 sites in the country on how to use the agricultural drone.

Japanese companies lag behind some companies in China and other foreign countries in the development and sales of drones.

Katsu Nakamura, senior general manager of Yamaha Motor's Unmanned System Section, said the company has taken a while to launch an agricultural drone because it "took time to examine the benefits (of the product) without giving up (development) by the company itself."

"We hold the lead in spraying devices," Nakamura said, eager to recover from setbacks in the agricultural drone field. Jiji Press