Drones Plant 5.5 Tons of Seeds in China Reforestation Win

Steep, eroded hillsides that would have taken workers weeks of dangerous climbing to replant just got a high-tech makeover in 45 drone flights.

Jinghong Drone's AG95 aircraft recently completed the Anyang Green Hills Project in Henan Province, China, scattering 5.5 tons of tree seeds across barren mountains that manual crews could barely access. Each flight carried 120 kilograms of seeds, following GPS-guided paths that ensured uniform coverage even on slopes too steep for people to safely climb.

The drone covered terrain at a rate of 35 hectares per hour. Traditional manual seeding would have required weeks of backbreaking labor, with workers hauling heavy seed bags up unstable slopes and risking falls with every step.

"This project proves that agricultural drones are not just for crop spraying. They are a powerful tool for ecological restoration," said Michael Li, General Manager of Jinghong Drone. The autonomous flights kept ground crews completely safe while achieving more consistent seed distribution than human hands could manage.

The timing couldn't be better for China's ambitious green goals. The country aims to complete afforestation across 66.7 million hectares by 2030 under its Three-North shelterbelt program, and drone technology is quickly becoming essential to hitting those targets.

Government support is accelerating the shift. In November 2025, six Chinese departments issued guidelines specifically promoting UAV use for forestry and ecological monitoring. The January 2026 National Forestry and Grassland Work Conference identified drone operations as a core productive force, with seven of twelve key priorities involving aerial technology.

The efficiency gains are already showing up in real numbers. In Tibet's Shannan region, 290 afforestation drones generated nearly 12 million yuan in income for local villagers in early 2026. In the Kubuqi Desert, drone seeding proved 100 times faster than manual planting and increased germination rates by roughly 15 percent.

The Ripple Effect

The Anyang project demonstrates how solving one problem creates benefits across multiple fronts. Workers stay safe on the ground instead of risking injury on steep slopes. Seeds get distributed more evenly, giving saplings better survival odds. Projects that once took months now wrap up in days, meaning more land gets restored faster.

As countries worldwide set increasingly ambitious climate and reforestation goals, the bottleneck has often been the sheer physical difficulty of planting in remote or dangerous terrain. Drone technology removes that barrier entirely, turning inaccessible mountainsides into viable restoration sites.

Jinghong has already deployed its drones in more than 30 countries across five continents. The company holds over 30 patents and designs its aircraft with IP67 weatherproofing to handle harsh outdoor conditions.

China's massive reforestation push may be the proving ground, but the technology works anywhere trees need planting and terrain makes it hard. Mountains are getting greener, one autonomous flight at a time.