Digital News

　　In the height of summer, there is no longer a scene of “sweat dripping onto the soil beneath the grain”. At Fuxi Farm in Xinlin Village, Fanchang District, Wuhu City, Anhui Province, late-season rice seedlings are planted in neat rows, while agricultural robots shuttle between the fields, inspecting crop conditions. Various sensors are scattered throughout the farm, detecting soil moisture, weather conditions, pests, and diseases. These data are transmitted in real time to the command center at the rear.

　　“This place is like the ‘brain’ of the farm”, says Hou Guangyu, a field manager born after 1995, seated in the command center with a tablet in hand, remotely operating the agricultural robots. “Now that the farm is ‘smart,’ you can farm in the room”.

　　This year’s No. 1 Central Document proposed: “Support the development of smart agriculture, and expand the application scenarios for artificial intelligence, data, and low-altitude technologies”. So, how does advanced technology empower smart agriculture? Recently, reporters visited several smart farms to find out.

　　Leveraging Data

　　Conducting Simulation and Forecasting and Selecting a Better Solution

　　As a smart farm, Fuxi Farm is a pilot project by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to develop intelligent agriculture. In 2023, the project team established its technology and data headquarters in Xiong’an New Area, Hebei Province. Fuxi Farm has since been promoted across Inner Mongolia, Chongqing, Anhui, Hubei, and other regions, with continuous progress in industrialization and market adoption.

　　“Traditional agriculture faces many uncertainties. With big data, we can conduct simulations and predictions across all stages, from sowing to irrigation and plant protection, to select the optimal solution”, said Zhang Yucheng, a senior engineer at the Institute of Computing Technology, CAS. Fuxi Farm has developed and trained models and algorithms focused on soil moisture, weather, pests, and diseases, providing reliable support at the decision-making level for achieving stable and high yields.

　　Fresh data from the fields continues to flow into the algorithmic “brain”. China’s smart agriculture is accelerating into a new stage of development.

　　According to a relevant responsible person from the Department of Market and Informatization of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, smart farms in agriculture, animal husbandry, and fisheries are undergoing comprehensive transformation and upgrading with the aid of modern information technologies. These innovations enable intelligent sensing, decision-making, and control throughout the production process, significantly boosting labor productivity, resource efficiency, and land output.

　　In Dahualing Village, Neixiang County, Henan Province, there is a special “veterinarian” in Muyuan Foods Co., Ltd.’s smart livestock farm: a robotic intelligent inspection system. Integrated with multiple sensors, it automatically monitors livestock health. “For example, it can detect changes in body temperature through infrared thermography and smart thermometers, issuing early warnings when necessary”, explained Hu Yiyong, the Company’s responsible person for intelligent diagnostics.

　　In Sanshandao Subdistrict, Laizhou City, Shandong Province, staff in industrial recirculating aquaculture workshops use smart feeding technology that precisely controls feed quantity based on fish size and behavior. “This system doesn’t just record fish activity. It can perform deep learning to develop its models and algorithms”, said Li Wensheng, Deputy General Manager of Laizhou Mingbo Aquatic Products Co., Ltd.

　　At present, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has established an Expert Advisory Committee on Smart Agriculture to strengthen strategic research and overall coordination. In terms of standardization, 122 industry standards have been initiated, and 26 have already been issued and implemented, strongly promoting the standardized and healthy development of smart agriculture.

　　In October last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the National Smart Agriculture Action Plan (2024-2028), which states: By the end of 2026, a preliminary framework for public smart agriculture services will be in place, with agricultural production informatization exceeding 30%; By the end of 2028, the public service capacity will be significantly enhanced, and the role of information technology in reducing costs and increasing efficiency in grain, oil, and key agricultural product production will be fully evident, with informatization surpassing 32%.

　　Innovative Technologies 

　　Helping Reduce Costs and Increase Efficiency, and Expanding Application Scenarios

　　Smart greenhouses are teeming with vitality. At the Tangshan Cuigu Modern Agricultural Industrial Park in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, tomato varieties such as the Florence tomato are growing well. The integrated smart water and fertilizer machine displays fertilization data for each planting zone. At noon, as the temperature rises, skylights and fans automatically open to regulate the indoor environment.

　　“Daily tomato management is entirely controlled by a domestically developed digital system”, said Wang Tiejun, deputy general manager of the park. Several years ago, the park imported smart equipment and systems from abroad, but their algorithms proved ill-suited to local conditions, leading to high costs and slow response times. Subsequently, the park adopted a suite of independently developed technologies from the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, including data sensing and intelligent environmental control systems. “The digital transformation of the greenhouse tomato industry has yielded remarkable results—water and fertilizer use have both decreased by over 30%, while yields have increased by one-third”, Wang Tiejun said.

　　“Prompt watering during droughts and rapid alerts during pest outbreaks require timely and effective responses. Technically, this is no simple feat”, explained Ren Ni, director of the Key Laboratory of Smart Agriculture Technology (Yangtze River Delta) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and director of the Institute of Agricultural Information at the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences. According to Ren, the core pillars supporting smart farm operations are reliable data, algorithmic models, and intelligent equipment.

　　For instance, in the realm of data sensing, various sensor technologies are utilized, including edge computing, crop phenotyping diagnostics, and wearable devices. In decision-making and control, the focus lies in developing core algorithms targeting key factors such as environment, water-fertilizer-pesticide inputs, energy consumption, and feeding management, to enable precise control. Ren shared that a multi-terminal collaborative picking robot composed of “a robotic arm and modular components” is currently under development and is expected to be finalized by the end of this year. Its picking speed is projected to improve from 10 seconds to just 4 seconds per fruit.

　　The pace of innovation in smart agricultural products never stops. In November last year, DJI Agriculture launched a new agricultural drone model. “The new model features a laser radar and two active phased array radars, capable of capturing up to 300,000 spatial point clouds per second and accurately identifying thin obstacles like inclined field wires and power lines”, said Li Xinglong, senior engineer at DJI Agriculture. In addition to crop protection for open fields, drones are also being adapted for low-altitude lifting and the transport of agricultural supplies, further expanding their application in smart farming.

　　In recent years, China’s innovation capacity in smart agriculture has continued to grow. A total of 34 national smart agriculture innovation centers and sub-centers and 35 key laboratories for agricultural information technology have been established, covering key technological domains in smart agriculture. Through joint research efforts by research institutions and enterprises, China has achieved major breakthroughs in key technologies such as high-throughput crop phenotyping, rapid soil testing equipment, and large-scale general-purpose robotic platforms for agriculture.

　　Looking Ahead

　　Exploring Holistic Approach and Cultivating Talent Pipelines

　　The future industries targeted by smart agriculture represent a vast blue ocean.

　　“Even in advanced countries, the development of standardized systems for digital and smart agriculture is still in the exploratory stage, evolving from fragmented practices to more systematic approaches”, said Ren Ni. Large-scale deployment of smart agricultural technologies faces many global challenges. In China’s case, the country’s vast territory, diverse terrain and climate, and wide array of crops, forests, livestock, and fisheries increase the complexity and difficulty of innovating in key areas such as data algorithm models and operation equipment.

　　Zhang Yucheng believed that the currently popular technologies, artificial intelligence and machine learning, still need improvements in accuracy and reliability to realize their full potential in smart agriculture.

　　In real-world applications, cost and environmental conditions also pose constraints that require innovative breakthroughs. Zoomlion Smart Agriculture Co., Ltd. has demonstrated large-scale digital cultivation techniques for field crops across 3.16 million mu in provinces such as Hunan and Anhui. “We are working hard to explore opportunities for cost reduction”, said Song Yang, director of the Technology R&D Department at the Company’s Digital Agriculture Research Institute. He noted that current smart irrigation gates remain relatively expensive, and many smart technologies require high standards for soil flatness and fertility. The company is strengthening cooperation with government departments and agricultural enterprises to further promote the application of digital cultivation technologies.

　　“Digital intelligent technologies are advancing at the forefront, yet agricultural production environments remain complex, often resulting in high investment and uncertainty. Therefore, isolated technological breakthroughs are not enough; integrated application scenarios must also be developed”, said Ren Ni. She suggested that an overall solution should be explored first, followed by large-scale promotion to lower the risks and costs associated with implementing smart agriculture.

　　“Building a smart farm requires a multidisciplinary talent pipeline”, said Zhang Yucheng. His team is collaborating with the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education and agricultural vocational colleges in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and other regions to develop smart agriculture curricula and establish hands-on training bases.

　　With vast lands, smart agriculture has promising prospects. It is learned that currently, developed countries have achieved mechanized management of over 5,000 mu per person. China is now aiming to reach international advanced standards, striving toward a target of “over 10,000 mu managed per person”.