Information technology injects new energy into the development of agriculture, rural areas and farmers

“There is a small mountain village called Bainiu Village in Lin'an, Zhejiang. The village's main cash crop is hickory nuts, cultivated by generations of ancestors. Last year, the village's online sales of hickory nuts and processed products exceeded 200 million yuan. I went to an online store in the village to investigate, and the shop owner said that last year they actually sent 250,000 express parcels, with a turnover of 20 million yuan.” Committee member Xu Xiangdong told reporters.

Information technology is becoming a new economic growth point in rural areas, changing the face of the countryside: from those couriers hurrying along rural roads, from those young people who stay in front of their phones scrolling to gain knowledge and improve their quality of life, from those fishermen who use the Internet of Things to raise fish and shrimp, and even from those fresh agricultural products that quickly enter urban households through modern logistics, one can see that what information technology will bring to rural areas will be earth-shaking change.

Both the reality and what can be foreseen fill “agriculture, rural areas and farmers” with endless hope. However, if we broaden our perspective to the entire countryside, especially to those slightly remote areas, we have to say that compared with cities, rural informatization is still a weak link. So much so that at this year's Two Sessions, some representatives pointed out that in today's ever-accelerating economic and social development, villages that cannot get onto the informatization channel may be left further and further behind.

1

“Smart agriculture” still has a long way to go

In recent years, the application of information technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing and mobile connectivity in agricultural production has enabled intelligent control, precise operation and scientific management in the production process, raised the level of automation and organization in agricultural production, and has become an important path for promoting the transformation and upgrading of modern agriculture. Among these, what the general public is most familiar with is “smart agriculture.”

So what does “smart agriculture” look like?

Committee member Ke Bingsheng told reporters: “In Heilongjiang, some farms have adopted the Internet of Things. Sensors in the fields monitor information such as temperature and humidity, and farmers can see it on computers and mobile phones, and can farm with just a few taps; in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang area, many aquaculture farmers use the Internet of Things to monitor water quality, reducing errors in human judgment and easing the labor intensity of farming; in some large breeding farms, the Internet of Things has achieved intelligent constant-temperature control, feed delivery and product sales traceability.”

Information technology has made agriculture “smart,” showing advantages in increasing agricultural output and efficiency and in the quality and safety of agricultural products. “Agricultural informatization is the commanding height of modern agriculture and plays an important role in accelerating the transformation of the agricultural development model.” said Chen Zhangliang, member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

“Our Qiqihar City widely applies information technology throughout the entire process of agricultural product production. Through the Internet of Things, the production methods of the bases and the circulation process of products are transparently presented to consumers, turning government supervision into full-chain, whole-process, fully transparent supervision with consumer participation, strongly promoting a qualitative leap in agriculture.” said representative Tan Zhijuan.

The application of information technology in agricultural production, operation, management, services and other fields is deepening day by day, and its supporting role for the agricultural industry is becoming increasingly prominent. The 12316 national agricultural information service platform system, covering all levels from ministries and provinces to prefectures and counties, is also providing timely, accurate and effective information services to farmers. Since 2013, the Ministry of Agriculture has also launched the Internet of Things regional trial project. At present, the Tianjin facility agriculture and aquaculture Internet of Things trial zone, the Shanghai agricultural product quality and safety supervision trial zone, and the Anhui field production Internet of Things trial zone have achieved remarkable results.

However, in most areas, equipping agriculture with informatization has far from even started. “In recent years, China's agricultural informatization work has focused on advancing e-government and disseminating agriculture-related information, while transforming traditional agriculture with information technology and serving ‘agriculture, rural areas and farmers’ is still very lacking.” Committee member Shi Zhongyan believes that the pace of agricultural informatization urgently needs to be accelerated.

On the main actors for promotion, Committee member Zhang Jindong suggested supporting leading enterprises in building modern agricultural production bases, encouraging them to use technologies such as mobile video surveillance, QR codes and the Internet of Things to achieve traceability management and full-process monitoring of agricultural products, and promoting standardized and specialized production of agricultural products.

“From a global perspective, agricultural database technology, agricultural expert network systems and precision agriculture technology occupy leading positions in modern agricultural technology. We should apply agricultural science and technology in agricultural production according to local conditions, and give priority to developing agricultural information technologies that farmers can see, use, relate to and profit from, truly bringing tangible benefits to farmers.” said Shi Zhongyan.

2

E-commerce: joy and constraints coexist

Data show that rural e-commerce is developing rapidly. Last year's sales exceeded 140 billion yuan, and it is becoming a new growth point that leads farmers, especially guiding rural agricultural and sideline products to the market, to the whole country, and even to the world.

“Lishui is one of the best places in the country for rural e-commerce development. Seven of its 9 counties are among the ‘Top 100 E-commerce Counties in China.’ At present, more than 8,300 online stores have been opened, with annual sales of 3.8 billion yuan.” said Wang Yongkang, representative and Party Secretary of Lishui City, Zhejiang Province. “Last year, the per capita disposable income of Lishui farmers reached 13,635 yuan, and the growth rate ranked first in the province for the 6th consecutive year. The income of farmers in all 9 counties exceeded 10,000 yuan, and all shed the label of ‘underdeveloped.’ The development of rural e-commerce played an indispensable role!”

With the help of the Internet, rural e-commerce connects the urban and rural markets with zero distance. At the same time, it also breaks the digital divide and information asymmetry between urban and rural areas, thereby forcing the transformation and upgrading of rural industries.

“Rural e-commerce is the farmer's ‘clairvoyance’ and ‘clairaudience,’ allowing farmers to go out and bring things in. Through the Internet, farmers know what the market needs, carry out planned planting and processing, and reduce blind planting. Farmers can sell agricultural products to larger markets and can also buy fertilizers and pesticides at fair prices, solving the problems of difficulty in selling and high purchase costs.” said representative Li Shiqiang.