The Drone is Here. Am I Gonna Lose My Job?

On January 2nd, we posted an entry on Facebook entitled:  The Drone is Here.  Am I Gonna Lose My Job?

By profession, Mr. B is a typical rice spray laborer who walks the field early in the morning, applying a list of necessary chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, etc.  When we unboxed the Agras MG-1S in October, I felt a sense of exclusion from the spray laborers who watched anxiously as we tested the drone in their turf.  Who can blame them?

The Agras can spray 1 hectare of rice in 15 minutes.  Spray laborers take half a day.

But this is not a case of human displacement.

In truth, the impetus for purchasing the Agras MG-1S is to achieve human separation from chemical application.  To implement this, conventional thinking might lead you to think that you need to hire a 'skilled' pilot to displace the spray laborers.  But this client thought differently.

It takes bold leadership and much patience to push human resource beyond their comfort zone.  They took 6 spray laborers in January and trained them to become drone pilots.  They began with flight theory, followed by simulator practice,  then on to smaller drones, then finally the DJI Agras MG-1S.

3 of the 8 spray laborers completed the course, Mr. B being one of them.  I was pleasantly surprised to see him conduct the demo to the delegation I brought.  But even more, I reserve much praise for his bosses whose unfailing belief in their staff sets the gold standard for management--they've been training ordinary foot soldiers to become drone pilots for several years!



Look at Mr. B on the controls, confidently explaining the flight settings and inspecting the Agras as part of their safety protocols.



Behold:  The face of the modern Filipino farmer.