Agritech must be cost-effective to take root

"If we want to promote high-tech farming on a large scale and really put it in the hands of farmers, then the cost effectiveness should be high and the cost must be controllable," said Yang, a member of Hamato, one of four finalist teams in Pinduoduo's Smart Agriculture Competition, an annual challenge to promote technology and innovation in agriculture.

China has made digitalization of the agricultural sector a priority, including it in a recent five-year plan on the digital economy. Smart agriculture, which refers to the usage of technologies like the Internet of Things, sensors and artificial intelligence in farming, can increase the quality and quantity of crops while optimizing the use of human labor. 

Teams taking part in the Pinduoduo agriculture competition must balance production yield, nutrition level and environmental sustainability when designing their protocols. This year, the finalists are tasked to cultivate cherry tomatoes at a smart greenhouse base in Yunnan. 

The tomatoes are grown in automated greenhouses that use sensors to monitor growing conditions and algorithms to analyze and recommend actions. Growers can adjust inputs of water and fertilizer with more precision to achieve greater yield. Most of the work is done remotely through cloud-based control systems, with support from a handful of on-site technicians. 

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Source: Ag News