Across China, satellite remote sensing and low-altitude drones are increasingly being deployed in rural agriculture. From monitoring crop growth and identifying pests and diseases to conducting precision spraying and assessing natural-disaster risks, the integration of space-based and aerial technologies is helping improve agricultural productivity, reduce labor costs and modernize rural governance. Butuo County in Sichuan Province offers a vivid example of how these technologies are being applied in China’s mountainous regions.
Technicians from Sichuan Aerospace Shiyuan Technology conduct drone-based crop protection operations in Butuo County. Photo by Chen Liangxing
Distant mountains rise in deep blue-green hues, their ridgelines forming one natural barrier after another.
Deep in the Daliang Mountains at an elevation of more than 2,000 meters lies Butuo County, one of China’s key counties receiving national rural revitalization assistance. The terrain is mountainous, the valleys are deep, and farmland is scattered across fragmented plots. For years, farmers had to carry agrochemicals up the mountains and apply them on foot, resulting in low efficiency. Pest and disease control often failed to reach inaccessible corners of sloping fields, while corn borers and early and late potato blight returned year after year. The resulting losses in yields and income remained a persistent concern for local farmers.
As the Digital China initiative advances and Sichuan embraces the growth of commercial spaceflight and the low-altitude economy, Butuo is also undergoing a quiet digital transformation.
In March, Sichuan Aerospace Shiyuan Technology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Sichuan Academy of Aerospace Technology under China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, established a branch in the county. The branch is primarily responsible for developing, implementing and operating satellite applications and low-altitude economy projects in Butuo and the wider Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.
Since its establishment, the company has brought advanced aerospace technologies—including satellite remote sensing and low-altitude drones—directly into local fields. By integrating space-based and aerial digital technologies, it is addressing multiple challenges in mountainous agriculture and grassroots governance while providing technological support for stable grain production and higher rural incomes in Yi communities.
Crop Protection Drones Safeguard Grain Production and Income Growth
The results can be seen in the fields and measured in farmers’ earnings.
From mid-June to late July, standardized drone-based crop protection operations were conducted across 43,000 mu, or approximately 2,867 hectares, of farmland throughout Butuo County. The project covered four major corn-producing townships, including Longtan, as well as five key potato-growing townships, including Temuli.
Heavy-payload agricultural drones flew across the mountainous landscape, simultaneously carrying out pest and disease control, foliar fertilization, stress resistance treatment and crop maturation enhancement during each flight.
To address the particular challenges of crop protection in mountainous areas, Sichuan Aerospace Shiyuan Technology combined aerospace technologies with scientifically formulated, customized agrochemical and fertilizer solutions. Mechanized, standardized operations were introduced to replace conventional manual work.
Technical assessments indicate that the drone operations increased average corn yields by 10 kilograms per mu while also improving crop quality. Potato yield losses were kept below 5%, further strengthening the income-generating potential of the locally renowned “Butuo black potato.”
The initiative extends beyond field operations and seeks to transform traditional farming practices.
Green development principles were incorporated throughout the program. The project used compliant agrochemicals with low toxicity and low residue levels, while all discarded pesticide packaging was collected for centralized disposal, reducing agricultural nonpoint-source pollution at its origin.
Drone operations also substantially reduced manual labor requirements and chemical waste, delivering tangible savings in field management costs for farmers.
The low-altitude agricultural drones serve both as aerial guardians of food security and as a bridge connecting aerospace technology with rural communities. They allow Yi residents in this high-altitude, cold region to benefit directly from technological advances in the aerospace industry.
Wearing red vests bearing the Aerospace Shiyuan name, technicians traveled between villages to provide agricultural education. They explained the advantages of modern, coordinated pest and disease management and demonstrated drone-based crop protection operations step by step. Through these efforts, the company is helping farmers adopt modern cultivation practices and establishing a model for smart mountain agriculture in Liangshan.
Proprietary Core Technologies Build the Foundation for Digital Governance
In line with Sichuan’s plans for developing the low-altitude economy, Sichuan Aerospace Shiyuan Technology has pursued breakthroughs in core low-altitude technologies, reduced reliance on foreign equipment and built a countywide digital low-altitude safety supervision platform for Butuo. The platform supports a new county governance system integrating space-based, aerial and ground-based capabilities.
This year, a project jointly submitted by Sichuan Aerospace Shiyuan Technology and SeeWay.ai to develop and deploy an airborne terminal integrating 5G communications and navigation was selected for Chengdu’s dedicated technology innovation research and development program.
To address persistent industry challenges—including inaccurate positioning in low-altitude traffic management, delayed data transmission and dependence on imported core equipment—the project team has focused on centimeter-level integrated positioning using 5G and the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System.
More than 95% of the terminal’s components are now domestically produced. The system also incorporates China’s commercial cryptography standards, strengthening both low-altitude data security and the independent controllability of the industrial supply chain.
Using its proprietary communications and navigation terminal alongside satellite remote sensing, digital twins and Internet of Things technologies, the company built the low-altitude safety supervision platform for Butuo County free of charge. The platform provides a complete closed-loop system covering monitoring, early warning and emergency response.
Previously, the complex terrain of the Daliang Mountains had to be inspected from the ground, resulting in limited coverage and slow emergency response.
The new platform links satellite remote sensing with low-altitude drones, providing countywide support for agricultural and forest management, geological disaster warnings, natural resource inspections, emergency rescue and public security operations.
The platform routinely monitors changes in cultivated land across the county and provides advance warnings of hazards such as landslides and flooding. It also enables agricultural, rural affairs and natural resources authorities to share data and coordinate their responses.
The project offers a replicable model for integrated “satellite plus low-altitude drone” monitoring services at the county level across Sichuan.
From agricultural drones operating over individual fields to a countywide low-altitude supervision platform, aerospace technology is no longer directed solely toward the vastness of space—it is also taking root at the grassroots level.
The initiative has improved the operational value of aerospace technology assets while strengthening the Sichuan Academy of Aerospace Technology’s strategic presence in satellite applications and the low-altitude economy. It also provides a comprehensive solution for large-scale smart agriculture and digital grassroots governance in the mountainous areas of southwestern Sichuan.
Sichuan Aerospace Shiyuan Technology will continue advancing the implementation of its projects in Butuo. Amid the growing momentum behind rural revitalization and the high-quality development of the low-altitude economy, the company aims to use aerospace technology to help create a future of abundant harvests, thriving industries, efficient governance and greater prosperity across the Yi communities of the Daliang Mountains.
As China’s satellite manufacturing capacity increasingly outpaces near-term domestic demand, expanding into overseas markets with more affordable satellite data and application services is becoming both necessary and inevitable. The integration of satellite remote sensing and low-altitude drones creates a practical pathway for bringing these capabilities to agriculture worldwide. Explore STARPATH GLOBAL’s agricultural solutions, or apply for the limited-availability Pioneer Partner Program to work with our FDE engineers on a solution tailored to your project.
