Drones could soon become an increasingly common presence in Italian agricultural fields, not only to monitor crops or check the state of the soil, but also to distribute pesticides in a targeted way. In recent days there has been a lot of talk about the Senate’s “green light” for precision spraying with drones, but the situation is more complex than it seems.
In fact, this is not an immediate liberalization of the use of drones to spray pesticides from above. The one approved by the Senate Agriculture Commission is rather a political and regulatory step that opens up to experimentation and accelerates the path towards new European and Italian rules on precision agriculture.
What the Senate approved
The 9th Agriculture Committee of the Senate has approved a resolution linked to a proposal to modify European rules on the sustainable use of pesticides. The declared objective is to promote technologies considered more efficient and precise, reducing waste of water, energy and chemical products.
It is argued that drones could be useful especially in hilly or mountainous areas; in vineyards and on land that is difficult to reach with tractors; after heavy rains, when agricultural vehicles risk damaging the soil; for targeted interventions on limited portions of cultivation.
According to the promoters, precision agriculture would allow the distribution of fewer pesticides than traditional methods, thanks to more localized and controlled treatments.
But can drones already spray pesticides? Not yet fully operational. This is the point that is often overlooked. In Italy, aerial spraying of pesticides has historically been prohibited, except for exceptional exceptions. Drones therefore risk finding themselves in a sort of regulatory “grey area”: they are very different tools from traditional agricultural aircraft, but so far the rules have not clearly distinguished them.
The simplification law approved in 2025 has already opened up the possibility of a three-year experiment, but to make it concrete we still need the implementing decrees of the competent ministries and the definitive technical rules.
In practice, the Senate has expressed a favorable orientation towards the use of drones for precision spraying and has opened the testing phase, but the system is not yet fully operational. Before these technologies can be used on a large scale, precise rules and implementing decrees will be needed that define in detail how they can be used.
Furthermore, fundamental aspects still remain to be clarified: which pesticides can be distributed with drones, on which crops they will be allowed to be used, with what limits and safety measures and at what distance from homes, schools, waterways or sensitive natural areas. The technical requirements of the drones and the necessary training for operators authorized to use them must also be established.
Although the operational phase for companies is in the starting blocks, Italy is not new to this technology: in fact, 23 trials entrusted to authorized research bodies in regions such as Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Piedmont and Veneto are already active. These tests, conducted on valuable crops such as vines, olive trees and rice paddies, seem to have already confirmed the agronomic effectiveness and environmental safety of the drones.
In addition to the start of the experimentation, the resolution commits the Government to push in Europe for certain times and to include drones in the future CAP 2028-2035. The aim is also to cut bureaucracy for companies and to create specific rules that distinguish drones from agricultural aircraft, in full compliance with the National Action Plan for the protection of health and the environment.
Because this decision divides
The topic is particularly delicate because it touches one of the most controversial issues in modern agriculture: the use of pesticides. On the one hand there are those who argue that drones can reduce the environmental impact compared to traditional treatments. Thanks to sensors, GPS and digital maps, drones could distribute smaller quantities of product only where necessary, avoiding unnecessary passages of tractors and reducing soil compaction.
On the other hand, however, environmentalists and part of the scientific world urge caution. The risk is that the technology is presented as a “green” solution without addressing the root problem: the dependence of intensive agriculture on pesticides.
One of the most discussed points concerns drift, i.e. the dispersion of the sprayed substances in the air. Even if drones operate at much lower altitudes than traditional agricultural aircraft, the debate remains open on how much it is really possible to avoid the spread of pesticides into the surrounding environment.
What will happen now
In the coming months the Italian Government will have to work on the implementing decrees of the experimentation, involving the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of the Environment and ENAC for the airspace rules.
At the same time, the European process to define common rules on the use of drones in agriculture will also continue. For now, therefore, we are at the beginning of a transformation that could profoundly change the way agricultural treatments are carried out.
The real question will be to understand whether drones will be used simply to make the use of pesticides more efficient or whether this innovation can really accompany a concrete reduction in chemistry in agriculture.
