June 5, GUANGZHOU - Along with participating the Responsible Business Forum on Climate Innovation, XAG has published its first Corporate Social Responsibility Report to highlight the contributions it made to improve sustainable development in social, economic and environmental context for the past five years. Here is the full version of XAG's CSR report. 

Since tapping into the frontier of agriculture technology, XAG has been holding firm in its unwavering commitment to build a new era of smart agriculture. In the past five years, XAG has introduced some of the most cutting-edge technologies and innovative solutions to the world, even in the remote rural areas. With technological innovation comes responsibility. XAG has been helping farmers manage their fields more effectively and ensuring a safer, healthier food supply, while leaving a smaller footprint on the planet. 

MAKING TECHNOLOGY AS THE GREATEST EMPOWERMENT OF FARMERS.

о Provided intelligent agriculture solutions to 4 million+ farmers.

The agriculture sector is facing problems ranging from labour shortage, rising labour costs to ineffective farm management. We have developed drones, sensors and other smart farming tools to tackle these problems and provided precise, cost-effective spraying services to 4.74 million farmers. We have been scaling our intelligent operation throughout the world.

о Transformed crop protection approach on 6 million+ hectares of farmlands.

With the world’s leading drone technology as well as Agriculture AI and IoT system, we help farmers make scientific decisions to better manage their farms. So far, our UAS plant protection services have been effectively conducted over 6,039,424 hectares of farmlands, protecting 255 crop varieties with less chemical use.

о Closed nearly 1 billion kilograms of produce yield gap, boosting $673 million+ GWP growth.

Through empowering farmers with technologies that avoid crop injury and curb the spread of pest diseases, we have helped achieve a total yield increase of 983,856,272 kilograms for rice, wheat, soybean, corn and cotton. This is equivalent to a growth of $673,952,856 on Gross World Product (GWP).

*Calculated based on the average yield and local market price of each crop (unit: kg).

 A BETTER RURAL LIFE, WITH EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES. 

о Bring inclusive financial services to every farmers.

Apart from increasing farming productivity, agriculture production data has been gathered through our drones, sensors and other digital terminals every day. With data on geospatial information, crop growth, transaction records, etc., we offer farmers and XAG users convenient, equal access to financial support.

Example: XAG user in China rented P Series Plant Protection UAS through Alipay Credit.

о Create 37,000+ jobs for rural employment,

   attracting young generation back to rural.

As a pioneer of the agriculture drone market, we are setting industry norms, driving entrepreneurship and creating new occupations. In the past 5 years, we have created 37,620 new jobs in rural areas, including 25,678 drone pilots and 5,971 ground crew and 5,971 drivers, most of whom are 1980s and 1990s.

*Calculated on the basis that each operation team includes with one ground crew and one driver.

о Provided nearly 50,000 users with opportunities to professional farming.

As subsidiary brands of XAG, XAG Academy and XAG Education have been founded to equip farmers with new skills and knowledge to adapt to the changing landscape of smart agriculture. So far, 500+ offline training centres have been set up and 25,678 UAS Operator Certificates have been issued. We have also provided platforms for 49,356 users to access professional farming training and education.

RAISING INDUSTRY STANDARDS ON FARMING AND AVIATION SAFETY.

о Protecting 32,485 users from pesticide poisoning.

Every year, over 3 million people are poisoned by pesticides worldwide, 10% of whom eventually die of it. Our autonomous drones, equipped with automatic chemical filling solution and precision spraying system, replace hand spraying and prevent operators from direct exposure to pesticides.

 *Calculated based on the number of people participating in field application, including UAS operators, ground crew and drivers.

о Ensured operation safety on 1.26 million+ flight hours.  

We have ensured 1,261,820 safe flight hours on UAS plant protection operation. We are continuously taking rigorous measures to manage risks on the job, especially under the harsh farming environments.

о Enabling flight information traceability to improve standard of operation.

We have developed the XAG Flight Information System, a visualised management platform, where users have real-time access to flight data of their drones and easily track their equipment status and operation records. With this traceable information, we are working together with our users to improve industry standards on agriculture drone operation and service quality.

MINIMISING AGRICULTURAL FOOTPRINTS TO PROTECT BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY.

о 87,000+ tons carbon emission reduced,

   equivalent to taking 54,164 cars off the road for a year.

With over 600 million hectares of UAS plant protection operation, we have consumed a total of 1,660,389 kWh green electricity. This has reduced carbon emissions by 87,745 tons, equivalent to taking 54,164 cars with 1.8L engines off the road for a year, while actively accelerating new energy development in rural areas.

 *Carbon Emission Reduced is the amount of CO2 released by diesel tractors completing the same operation.The number of Cars Taken off the Road is calculated on the basis that each car travels 10,000km and consumes 600L diesel a year.

о Conserved 1.4 million+ tons water,

   reduced 6,000+ tons pesticides and fertilisers.

We have developed precision spraying technology to avoid overdosing and make every droplet count. So far, 1,430,728 tons of agricultural water has been conserved, and the use of pesticides and fertilisers have been reduced by 6,196 tons.

о Maintaining healthy soils in limited arable lands.

By using drones to replace the large ground-based agriculture machinery, we protect the crops from the air and therefore avoid soil compaction. Healthier soils can better hold microorganisms which break down organic matters and recycle mineral nutrients essential to plant growth.

о Going further to reverse the loss of biodiversity.

We harness the power of technologies and partnerships to protect our planet and achieve greener communities across 38 countries. From restoring grasslands, combating forest degradation to relieving pollination crisis, we collaborate with government, international organisations, academic institutes and other entities to help protect biodiversity.

*Country served (in no particular order): US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Dominican Republic, Columbia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana, Rwanda, Ghana, Morocco, UK, Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Cyprus, Australia, New Zealand.

Collaborate with Alipay Ant Forest on one of the largest afforestation projects in the world.

Spread grass seeds with drones to restore the degraded Ruoergai Grassland in China.

Join hands with the local research team in Australia to conduct spraying experiments in which drones serve as “electronic bees” to pollinate almond trees.

*Data source: XAG Flight Information System (XFIS)