China raises seven major tasks to develop smart agriculture

China has rolled out plans to develop smart agriculture by giving prominence to the completion of seven major tasks by 2028 in terms of precision planting, digitalized cultivation and intelligent livestock breeding and fisheries.

Released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the plans include guidelines and action items that focus on significantly improving the application of smart agriculture. Key areas of emphasis include promoting precision planting of major grains, digitizing agricultural equipment, and enhancing intelligent livestock breeding and fisheries.

"We have orchestrated a monitoring network consisting of remote satellites, drone surveillance and ground screening, enabling real-time and comprehensive monitoring of agricultural meteorology, soil moisture content, and environmental factors such as pests and diseases. This greatly improves our ability to monitor and forecast agricultural disasters," said Wang Yaozong, director of the Department of Market and Informatization at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

For the first time, the construction of public service capacity for smart agriculture has been proposed. To support this initiative, relevant authorities will build a big data platform for agriculture and rural affairs and develop a range of models and tools to promote the digital transformation of farmers and agricultural businesses at low costs.

In Xiong'an New Area, Hebei Province, a smart farm called Fuxi Farmland has been implemented in various cities across China.

Utilizing big data and artificial intelligence (AI), engineers can manage grain planting by controlling remote unmanned machines from a control center located 20 kilometers away, while accessing real-time information about crops through a large monitoring screen.

"The smart agricultural machines are equipped with various intelligent control systems. Following the pre-set routes, they can operate accurately according to our pathways, with support from the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, all initiated through an app on a mobile phone or smart terminal," said Bi Zhiqiang, an engineer at the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Besides serving sowing and planting links, smart equipment also enhances breeding efficiency by creating models based on big data to optimize processes. To date, Fuxi Farm has been established in several provinces, facilitated by the deepening integration of technologies such as the Internet of Things and AI with agriculture.

China raises seven major tasks to develop smart agriculture

More than 4,500 people have been forced to evacuate their homes by a massive forest fire in Japan, which broke out in the northeastern coastal city of Ofunato on February 26.

As of Tuesday, the area affected by the fire in Ofunato of Iwate Prefecture has expanded to approximately 2,900 hectares, accounting for 9 percent of the city's total area.

Local authorities have established multiple evacuation shelters as part of the fire relief efforts. As the fire continues to spread, evacuation zones are also expanding, with many residents forced to move to temporary shelters quickly.

At one of the shelters closest to the forest fire, there were about 300 evacuees, and the place was basically at full capacity, while the number of evacuees keep going up. "I live in Akasaki town, and received evacuation instructions last Thursday [February 27]. Then I came here that evening and spent the night. It's the first time I've seen such a large forest fire. It's truly difficult for those whose homes have been burned down," said an evacuee.

Ofunato City has experienced two fires since February. Data shows that the rainfall in February has been less than 10 percent of the average levels in previous years.

The coastal areas of southern Iwate Prefecture have been under a continuous dry weather alert since February 18. The ongoing dry conditions have exacerbated the spread of the fire.

"This is the largest forest fire Japan has seen in recent years, and we have never experienced such a large fire before. Although Ofunato City is making every effort to respond, the situation remains difficult to control, and the fire continues to spread, resulting in an increasing number of evacuees," a local official named Sasaki Hirohisa said.

Number of evacuees keeps rising amid raging forest fire in Japan