This is how big data helps with agriculture

The 2021 China International Big Data Industry Expo kicks off in Guiyang on May 26. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

The China International Big Data Industry Expo recently held in Guiyang in Southwest China's Guizhou province, showed how big data has empowered traditional industries, including the agricultural sector.

The information system displayed at the expo demonstrates how statistics assist tea promotion, by allowing potential customers to scan a QR code stuck on their tea bags. Information about how the tea grows and is processed will then pop up, making customers more confident about what they are going to buy, said Bao Gui, a leading figure in Pu'an county's tea industry.

In addition to participating in the finished tea product's promotion, big data also provides valuable information to tea growers and contributes to the quality of the tea. Black tea bases in Pu'an county are now fitted with internet of thing (IoT) devices that observe and record local climate and soil conditions, helping tea growers make better decisions for their plants.

Xiuwen county also benefits from big data collection. Its kiwi fruit has passed over 500 product standards related to pesticide residues, and has been sold overseas, thanks to the targeted and precise care of the kiwi fruit based on temperature, moisture, sunlight and soil pH data, collected by a small-scale climate station.

Digitalization also helps silkworm raisers in Zunyi city. By means of IoT and intelligent sensing technologies, which automatically adjust moisture and temperature, silkworms can live at the most comfortable environment for them.

A rural satellite remote risk control system has also been gradually applied by banks in Jiangxi and Guizhou provinces. The system provides the banks with information about crop areas, crop type, estimated output and its value of a specific piece of land. Banks will offer loans to farmers based on the data.

"Now phones have become new tools, livestreaming has become a new skill, and data have become new resources for farmers," said Liu Liehong, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.