Drones battle for air supremacy above Japanese rice paddies

China's DJI, Japan's Yamaha and others compete in accuracy, mobility and price

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With drones like this one from Nileworks, Japanese rice farmers might be able to match California farmers, who can produce rice at 25% of the cost in Japan.

RYOSUKE EGUCHI and NAOKI MATSUDA, Nikkei staff writers

A heavy tank hangs over a farmer's shoulder as he wades through a paddy spraying a pesticide on his plants. It is summer in Japan's rice fields, and the people carrying out this chore are aging.

That is one reason this work may be on the verge of extinction.

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