By Dou Hanyang, People’s Daily
Relying on its advantages in digitalization, Zhejiang province in east China has been vigorously developing future farms, which not only promotes the progress of intelligent agriculture, but also injects new impetus into the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.
In Nanxun district of the province’s Huzhou, fully-equipped demonstration parks have been built for fruit farmers, which provide planting functions including production demonstration, skill training and product exhibition.
In Ninghai county of Ningbo, Zhejiang, the living environment of aquatic animals in fish farms can be optimized through big data monitoring, and every breeding process is backed by intelligent technologies.
In silk farms of Shengzhou, Shaoxing of Zhejiang province, silkworms don’t feed on mulberry leaves but a unique type of fodder that enables them to spin cocoons.
Future farms systematically optimize the agricultural production management, operation model, and distribution system of agriculture with technological and institutional innovation. They are varied with different features in the farming, animal husbandry and fishery sectors.
Compared with traditional agricultural production, future farms rely on technology and bring out the full potential for the development of modern agriculture. They have higher requirements for mechanization, digitalization and intelligentization.
For instance, by employing artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and biotechnologies, a ranch in Zhejiang’s Haiyan county has achieved unattended operation, targeted feeding and intelligent environmental control.
Future farms are not only partial renovation of production and management technologies, but also comprehensive optimization of agricultural production models. Supported by digital technologies, such farms has distinctive advantages of intensive management of agricultural factors, intelligent and eco-friendly production, efficient management and diverse functions.
Future farms lay more emphasis on smoothing supply chains, so as to reshape the agricultural industry system and production models. They could be held by enterprises, villages or townships, with production and management models according to actual demands, which helps gather more social resources and thus achieve concentrated development.
In Nanxun district, a future farm was jointly built by a specialized company and local major growers. The company offers the grower one-stop services including plowing, planting, management, harvesting, storage, milling and sales. It also provides the latter with agricultural machinery services priced lower than the market and purchases their crops at a price that is 10 percent higher than the minimum level of the country.
As a result, the growers have seen their income go up by 200 yuan ($27.99) per mu (666.7 square meters), which has increased the collective income of the village by 376,000 yuan.
This new model, which combines villages, agriculture companies and farmers, has optimized land resources, equipment, technologies, human resources and other production factors. By incorporating more farmers into the industrial chain, it aims at win-win cooperation and helps achieve the common prosperity of farmers.
Future farms, by optimizing the organization of production, promote agricultural upgrading and offers new governance experiences for the development of the industry.
The regulation on animal epidemic prevention issued by Zhejiang province has absorbed the relevant experiences gained during the construction of future farms, including animal immunization, quarantine and harmless treatment.
This not only helps improve the digital management of animal epidemic prevention, but also sets a good example for other regions in developing intelligent agriculture.
Over recent years, China has deeply integrated the Internet of Things, big data, cloud platforms and other new technologies with agricultural development. The exploration of future farms has opened up new prospects for innovative agricultural development.
Accelerating the application of big data in agriculture and employing digital technologies in every link of agricultural development will promote the progress of intelligent agriculture, injecting new impetus into farmers’ income, rural revitalization and the modernization of agriculture and rural areas.