Guiyang brings intelligent digitalization to agriculture

The center mainly deals with pepper, tomato, kale, broccoli and eggplant seedlings. It's expected to produce about 85 million seedlings annually.

Intelligent agriculture has also expanded in animal husbandry.

Wan Kaichun, a broiler chicken breeder in Xifeng county, checks the condition of his chick house through a television or telephone with an app. He gets an alert if anything, such as the temperature, is abnormal. With devices and conveyor belts, he can feed the chickens quickly and precisely.

Wan said he can manage the family's 20,000 chickens all by himself with the help of the platform.

A series of digital and intelligent products being used in the agricultural field have promoted the modernization and rural vitalization of Guiyang.

By collecting and analyzing massive data, the growth conditions of crops and livestock can be acquired, so that better planting and raising methods can be offered, not only to improve production and quality on the supply end, but also to provide safer food on the market end.

As Guiyang is working to build a national food safety demonstration city, big data is adopted in food production, processing, circulation and consumption to realize whole-chain traceable monitoring.

At the Guiyang agricultural products logistics park, fresh foods are given a QR code that contains all the information customers may want to know.

"We will record the time when it enters the park, its place of origin, certificates, inspection and when and where it leaves the park, and report to the commerce and market supervision departments," said Li Qingqing, the park's business planning manager.

At the Xinlukou farmer's market in Nanming district, a big screen shows pesticide residue inspection data. Customers can check a machine to obtain information about the traders and food. Similar screens can be found at some snack streets to answer any worries about street food safety.

The Guiyang campus intelligent catering governance platform records surveillance video images from the kitchens of more than 1,000 schools for authorities and parents.

The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized the promotion of rural vitalization and the construction of a strong agricultural country. It also mentioned enhancing support for agricultural technology and equipment.

Jiang Hao, a global partner of consultancy Roland Berger, said digitalization plays an important part in improving agricultural production and management efficiency. It helps better predict the market, balance supply and demand, and ensure the stability of production despite the influence of nature.

"Agriculture has become a high-tech industry. Digital tools decrease cost and improve production and quality, so that farmers can have higher incomes and customers enjoy safer food," he said.

Nie Fengying, a researcher at the Agricultural Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said digital tools play an important role in rural industrial development and business model reform.

"Introducing digital technology to the whole process of agriculture helps promote supply-side structural reform and change production-oriented methods to quality-oriented ones," Nie said.

She added that digitalization makes agriculture greener and low-carbon, helping build an ecologically friendly rural environment. Additionally, making decisions and innovations based on data can improve rural governance effectiveness.