Feeling the Pulse of Agricultural Development at the Agricultural Trade Fair
Feeling the Agricultural Pulse at the Agricultural Trade Fair
Zhangqiu scallions taller than Yao Ming; intelligent robots that automatically collect soil samples and adjust the temperature and humidity of greenhouses; agricultural products bearing traceability codes seen everywhere…… At the recently held 12th China International Agricultural Trade Fair, visitors clearly felt the pulse of modern agriculture through the concentrated display of famous, superior and special products and up-to-date technologies.
Deep integration of information technology and agricultural modernization, “Greenhouse Commander” intelligently manages greenhouses
Big data, cloud computing, agricultural IoT, e-commerce…… At this year's Agricultural Trade Fair, the most eye-catching area was undoubtedly the agricultural informatization exhibition area.
“What is this used for?” Many visitors were curious when they saw the “robots” “hidden” among the simulated wheat fields and the drones in the air. According to the introduction, sensors can perceive information such as temperature and humidity in the fields, transmit this information to satellites and then back to the drones, and the drones automatically carry out operations such as spraying. This not only saves labor, but is also more precise and environmentally friendly.
Li Changjian, director of the Information Center of the Ministry of Agriculture, told reporters: “Information agriculture has moved from concept to the stage of practical operation, and informatization and agricultural modernization have entered a stage of comprehensive integration. Accelerating the development of agricultural informatization will certainly promote a fundamental transformation in the mode of agricultural development and further narrow the urban-rural digital divide.”
Cao Weiji, marketing director of Shanghai Agricultural Information Co., Ltd., introduced that agricultural IoT technology is currently used more in fields such as greenhouse crops and livestock and aquaculture. “For example, aquaculture farmers are most worried about the oxygen content and ammonia nitrogen indicators in the water. In the past, they relied on experience to increase oxygen and change water; after installing sensors, these indicators can be monitored in real time, and once oxygen is insufficient or levels exceed the standard, the equipment can be started automatically.”
The cost of “smart agriculture” is not as prohibitively high as imagined. At the booth of Nongxintong Group, the reporter saw a series of intelligent sensor products named “Pig Commander,” “Chicken Commander” and “Greenhouse Commander,” priced from 500 yuan to 2000 yuan. According to the introduction, the cost for one vegetable greenhouse is about seven to eight hundred yuan.
In addition, many enterprises also promoted the concepts of “agricultural cloud” and “big data.” “The big data system platform for animal husbandry and veterinary medicine that we have established, by collecting data on grassroots epidemic prevention, immunization, slaughtering and so on, can clearly grasp the number of pigs being raised, and also grasp their market release and flow, ultimately achieving the goals of forecasting, analyzing market prices and balancing market supply.” introduced Liu Sen, project manager of Beijing Baoxun Traceability.
Vice Minister of Agriculture Chen Xiaohua said at the Agricultural Informatization Summit Forum held during the Agricultural Trade Fair that informatization is the commanding height of modern agriculture. China has carried out effective exploration around agricultural informatization, and new-generation information technologies such as big data, IoT and cloud computing are accelerating their application in the fields of agricultural production, operation and services. A mechanism for agricultural informatization development featuring government promotion, market operation and multi-party participation has initially taken shape. At present, China has more than 40,000 agriculture-related websites, and the 12316 service hotline covers more than one-third of farming households nationwide. A total of 310 agricultural IoT achievements have been selected, involving monitoring of the “four conditions” of crops, facility agriculture, livestock and aquaculture, agricultural machinery operation scheduling, and agricultural product quality and safety. The annual transaction volume of agricultural product e-commerce has exceeded 50 billion yuan.
Traceability codes and regulatory systems work together, standardized production safeguards safety on the tip of the tongue
At the Agricultural Trade Fair, safety on the tip of the tongue once again became the focus of everyone's attention. From the agricultural reclamation exhibition area to booths from various regions, agricultural products labeled with QR codes could be seen. With just one scan, one quickly enters the agricultural product production traceability system, where information such as market launch time, farming records, input information and quality certification is all available.
“Whether or not there is this traceability code makes a big difference.” said Li Jianchang, vice chairman of the Honghu Shiyuan Soft-shelled Turtle and Tortoise Breeding Cooperative in Hubei. “Our cooperative sells soft-shelled turtles for 288 yuan per jin and crabs for more than 100 yuan each, and they are still in short supply. It is precisely because of the traceability code that consumers feel reassured.”
The traceability code is not just a barcode; behind it lies the strict quality control of agricultural production departments. Xu Huiqin of Gansu Agricultural Reclamation told reporters that the farm has realized the “five unifications” of agricultural production, and seed supply, pesticide use, fertilization and harvesting management must all be operated uniformly according to standardized procedures.
Yang Peisheng, deputy director of the China Agricultural Reclamation Economic Development Center, told reporters that in recent years, agricultural reclamation has vigorously promoted the building of brands and traceability systems. Of the 77 categories and several hundred varieties exhibited by the agricultural reclamation delegation at this fair, the vast majority were “Agricultural Reclamation Agricultural Product Quality Traceability” products.
At the Qingdao booth, the unique “Pesticide Safety Supervision Information Traceability System” attracted many visitors. Through the monitoring screen, consumers could see the real-time business operations of several pesticide stores. Song Jie, director of the Quality Supervision Division of the Qingdao Agricultural Commission, said that Qingdao has vigorously strengthened the designated management of highly toxic pesticides, reducing more than 100 pesticide stores to 38, while strengthening informatized supervision. The operation and use of highly toxic pesticides must all be registered and filed, achieving traceability and queryability. “In the future we also plan to expand this system to the operation and use of all agricultural inputs, with a plan to cover more than 5,000 stores citywide in 3 years.”
Qingdao also built the “Qingdao Agricultural Product Quality and Safety Comprehensive Supervision Platform.” After entering key information such as the start and end dates, administrative district or city, and base, everything from the certification qualifications of Qingdao's agricultural enterprises to the type and time of the most recent fertilizer application is clear at a glance. Song Jie said that this year alone, two enterprises with excessive pesticide residues were dealt with by having their licenses “revoked.”
At this Agricultural Trade Fair, pollution-free, green and organic agricultural products occupied almost all booths and were sought after by exhibitors and the public. Routine monitoring by the Ministry of Agriculture showed that in the first half of this year, the pass rates of routine monitoring for vegetables, livestock and poultry, and aquatic products nationwide reached 95.9%, 99.4% and 93.1% respectively.
Brand agriculture competes in splendor, new agricultural business entities lay the foundation
“Majiaogou celery is famous, and it is hollow; now try our ‘Jinkou Crisp’ celery. This solid celery is rich in fragrance, crisp and refreshing, tender and delicious. It was even once used as tribute.” At the exhibition, the green celery planted in flower pots attracted visitors to stop. Gong Chonghai, chairman of the Qingdao Agricultural Union Jinkou Celery Professional Cooperative, enthusiastically promoted it. Old Gong said that Jinkou celery has a long history, but unfortunately for years it had little fame. In the past two years, a cooperative was established, and through promotion and publicity, the “Jinkou Crisp” brand was made known in the surrounding areas. “Only with a brand can income increase and sales channels expand. Now farmers can earn a gross income of 30,000 yuan from growing one mu of celery!”
Brand agriculture attracted considerable attention at this Agricultural Trade Fair. Zhang Hecheng, director of the Department of Market and Economic Information of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that brand agricultural products gathered at the Agricultural Trade Fair in dazzling array and were deeply loved by consumers, highlighting the fruitful results of agricultural brand building and also guiding agricultural production and agricultural product consumption to develop in a diversified and branded direction, enhancing the consumption quality of urban residents. According to the introduction, transactions at this Agricultural Trade Fair were booming, with on-site trade volume reaching 46.703 billion yuan and on-site sales reaching 330 million yuan.
At the Agricultural Trade Fair, the rise of new agricultural business entities laid the foundation for brand agriculture building.
At the Shaanxi Famous, Special and Superior Agricultural Products Promotion Fair, Zhouzhi kiwifruit, Tongchuan apples, Dingbian potatoes and others were quite popular. The producers and operators of these products were mainly new agricultural business entities such as farmers' cooperatives and leading enterprises. They actively expanded markets and became the most active exhibitors.
Liu Baoyuan, an apple dealer from Tongchuan, Shaanxi, said: “We have our own apple base of 1,000 mu, driving 3 professional cooperatives to a planting area of 5,000 mu, promoting drip irrigation technology and saving 90% of water; with unified technical management, the rate of high-quality fruit increased from 50% to 80%. The ‘Gaoyuan Feng’ apple brand is really popular!”
How should the road of brand agriculture be taken? At the “China Brand Agriculture Development Conference” held during the exhibition, experts believed that China still does not have many agricultural product brands with obvious competitiveness. Many brands remain only in local areas, there are not many cross-provincial brands, and even fewer internationally renowned brands. In particular, public brand resources for agricultural products have not yet been well integrated, and there are not many agricultural product brands representing the national image.
Vice Minister of Agriculture Yu Kangzhen said that branding is the core competitiveness and an important symbol of agricultural modernization. Accelerating the building of agricultural brands is an urgent task for transforming the mode of agricultural development and accelerating modern agriculture. In the future, it is necessary to do a good job in the overall planning and related policy arrangements for brand agriculture building; vigorously develop high-quality agricultural products and improve product quality; and all localities should identify their own characteristics and achieve differentiated development.