When crops have problems, the PhD team at the Tainan Agricultural Improvement Station uses LINE to help farmers with diagnosis

The Tainan District Agricultural Improvement Station recently launched a new service that uses the messaging app LINE to provide an "instant crop diagnosis service." Farmers simply photograph their crop conditions and upload the images to LINE, and they receive instant feedback and advice from the improvement station's experts. Since the service was launched two months ago, more than a hundred farmers have come for consultations.

Using Smartphones Makes Crop Diagnosis Service More Instant

One of the long-standing missions of the agricultural improvement stations has been to provide farmers with "agricultural technical consultation and agricultural information." When farmers' crops have problems and they cannot confirm what disease is involved or how to solve it, they can seek professional assistance and advice by telephone, by mail, or by delivering samples in person to the improvement station.

In addition to the methods above, farmers can also email photos of crop pests and diseases to the pest and disease consultation mailbox of the Tainan District Agricultural Improvement Station ([email protected]).

However, as the proportion of people in Taiwan, China using smartphones and tablet computers continues to rise, the Tainan District Agricultural Improvement Station has also introduced a new type of crop diagnosis service, using the messaging app LINE to provide instant crop diagnosis.