Viral Video of Farmer Being Lifted by Drone Was Just for Fun, Says Owner
A video showing a farmer being transported by a drone while commuting to and from a plantation has gone viral on social media after being uploaded to the TikTok account @mbahkaruhon. However, the account owner has revealed that the upload was simply a bit of fun for content.
Budianto (47), Director of PT Bina Tani Makmur Jombang and the owner of the account, said the video was recently recorded on one of his plots of land in the Merakurak area, Tuban Regency, East Java. Budianto, who is originally from Jombang Regency, East Java, explained that he had previously uploaded several content pieces showing drones transporting fertiliser and seeds on his plantation, but they attracted little interest and did not receive many responses.
Eventually, he playfully recorded and uploaded a moment of a drone transporting a worker returning from the fields. Unexpectedly, that video went viral, being watched millions of times and shared thousands of times. “That was actually just for content. It was really just for fun. ‘Hey, let’s try lifting me [the worker], is it strong enough? Wow, your weight [the worker] is probably only 60 kg to 70 kg, so it can be lifted and reach over there,’” Budianto told CNNIndonesia.com on Tuesday (7/7).
He admitted he was shocked that his video suddenly attracted a flood of comments from netizens, a stark contrast to his previous content which received minimal response. “It turned out to be full, full of comments there. Wow, this TikTok is really something. How come the followers are so many, the comments are in the thousands, and it’s even been viewed millions of times,” he said.
Although it started as a lark, Budianto confirmed that it was not him being lifted by the drone in the video, but rather the area head who is also his business partner. “It wasn’t me riding the drone. The one riding the drone was the head worker for the area, my partner,” he said. Budianto also claimed he still considered safety factors. Workers were lifted one by one even though the drone is capable of carrying a heavier load. “But we also think about safety, right. So just one at a time. The ascent is slow, and the descent is also slow,” he stated.
He also stressed that the drone is actually not designed to carry humans, so only workers who were willing were lifted using the device, while other workers continued to walk to the fields. Budianto explained that the use of the drone stemmed from the condition of his plantation land, which has minimal road access. He described the location as a landlord’s plot that had never been planted, situated in a muddy area near the coast. “The road access is impossible [difficult to traverse with vehicles], because there is no road,” he said.
Because conventional vehicles and even helicopters were deemed not to be ideal solutions, he and his farming partners eventually agreed to use a large-capacity agricultural drone. “So what’s the solution? We can’t use a helicopter. Oh, that’s impossible. The permits are extensive. What should we use? Just use a drone. A large-capacity agricultural drone,” he said. The Dji Agras T100 drone used is capable of carrying up to 150 litres of water or a 150-kilogram load. Initially, this drone was used to transport water and pesticides, before being modified to carry fertiliser, seeds, and other agricultural necessities, including, more recently, being used for fun to transport workers to and from the fields.