Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-12-25
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A rice field in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, Dec. 21. (File photo/Xinhua) |
The
internet is changing China's agriculture sector through the use of sensors, the
Internet of Things, cloud computing and big data, which are helping create
semi-industrialized production methods, Guangzhou's 21st Century Business
Review reports.
"The
use of big data and the maturing of the Internet of Things will compensate the
shortcomings of traditional agriculture, making the industry more
scientific," said Fang Fahe, chief technology officer at Beijing-based
iSoftStone.
The company
has begun building its model for smart agriculture, setting up sensors with
cameras in farms in northern China's Hebei province to collect data about
crops, temperatures, precipitation and humidity. The data, along with that
recorded by farmers through mobile devices given by the company are then
uploaded to the cloud and analyzed to help better manage the farms, according
to the magazine.
The process
also allows regulators to easily trace sources of food when there are safety
concerns and allows better management of production, inventory and logistics,
the magazine added.
"We
now offer clients comprehensive solutions. The environment was quite
restricting in the past because of lagging development, but the conditions have
matured," Fang said.
Fang also
told the magazine that growing demand for equipment used for the Internet of
Things has pushed the development of new technology and microelectronics.
Market
researcher Gartner has forecast that the new equipment to be deployed for the
Internet of Things will grow by 30 percent from 3.8 billion to 4.9 billion next
year, and to 25 billion in 2020.
The use of
the internet will lead the industry's efforts to push production by order,
since the use of technology can help reduce water needs in agricultural
production and keep farmers in touch with market demand, Fang said.
Several
e-commerce companies including market leader Alibaba have expanded into
agriculture, which Fang described as a positive development for a sector that
relies on the use of big data, since Alibaba itself is competing with the edge
of being the owner of a sizeable amount of data.
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