Intrepid drone operators turn skills to good account

"Some of the women come from local poor families, and they had no other skills but have become skillful drone operators."

The cooperative is now going all out to promote the drones for spraying pesticides, Jiang says.

"They not only help improve the prevention and control of plant diseases and insect pests but also save water and reduce the use of pesticides."

Drones have provided rural women with work and also meant they can take care of children and the elderly at home, Jiang says.

The cooperative has more than 200 drones servicing nearly 67,000 hectares of farmland a year, covering between 60 to 70 percent of farmland in Tianmen, Jiang says. With more promotion, she says, she hopes her cooperative's drones can cover all the townships and villages in Tianmen.

To this end, Jiang, a mother of two, says she plans to train up to five drone operators and establish a shared drone service station in every village to help local farmers become more efficient and increase their income.

She also hopes more and more of the cooperative's members can take their services beyond Hubei in the months and years to come.