Wednesday, June 8, 2022

The Future of Agriculture Is Vertical Farm?

 Agricultural technology has never been the favorite of investment and is often classified as an industry that is unlikely to generate significant returns. But things are a little different these days, with data from Crunchbase showing that agtech startups received $5 billion in 2021, a 50% increase from 2020’s total funding for the industry. And before the first quarter of the year ended, $1 billion had already been invested in agtech startups.

Vertical Farming

Crunchbase points to a variety of factors driving this trend, including millennial consumer habits and needs, the pandemic and climate change, and the attractiveness of liquid investment opportunities for agtech companies.

In the agricultural technology industry, one of the more favored directions by capital is hydroponic vertical farming. On January 25 this year, Plenty, an American indoor vertical farming technology company, announced the completion of a $400 million Series E financing, setting a single financing record for an indoor agricultural enterprise so far.

Walmart, the world's largest retailer, also participated in Plenty's Series E round. Martin Mundo, Walmart’s senior vice president of U.S. produce sales, mentioned that in the past four years, Walmart has traveled the world, meeting many vertical farming companies and learning about new farming models. Walmart sees vertical farming as an environmentally friendly practice that ensures a year-round supply of high-quality and affordable produce.

Saturday, April 30, 2022

Smart Irrigation System Solutions

Smart water-saving irrigation system solution overview

The intelligent water-saving irrigation system solution adopts advanced information technologies such as the Internet of Things, mobile Internet, cloud computing, etc., and adopts high-precision environmental data acquisition equipment (smart weather station). Wireless data center and intelligent controller realize intelligent decision-making of agricultural irrigation water and remote/automatic control of irrigation equipment. At the same time, it integrates the functions of video monitoring equipment, real-time status monitoring of irrigation areas, alarm of abnormal irrigation status, and monitoring of pipeline pressure, which can effectively solve the problems of wide distribution of farmland in agriculture, forestry and mountainous areas, many monitoring points, and difficulties in wiring and power supply. Realize the intelligence and automation of agricultural and forestry production.

Smart Irrigation Systm

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Yibiyuan Integrated Fertigation System

In recent years, the integrated water and fertilizer intelligent firtigation system has taken root and germinated everywhere, replacing the traditional fertilization and irrigation, making the fertilization more accurate and making the irrigation more intelligent. It is an intelligent irrigation system based on the agricultural Internet of Things technology. It can automatically detect, allocate and supply water and fertilizer according to the water and fertilizer requirements of different crops, as well as the soil environment and nutrient content. 

Integrated Fertigation System

Yibiyuan Integrated Drip Fertigation System

It can improve the efficiency of irrigation water while realizing the timing and quantitative control of irrigation and fertilization. , not only can save water, fertilizer and electricity, but also can reduce labor input and labor costs. Widely used in field, dry field, greenhouse, orchard and other planting and irrigation operations.

Saturday, March 26, 2022

75% of Israel's land uses water-saving drip irrigation technology

 According to Xinhua News, March 22 is World Water Day. The United Nations has set the theme of World Water Day 2022 as "Cherish groundwater and treasure hidden resources". In Israel, a country in the Middle East where water resources are scarce, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, "water-saving wisdom" at the fingertips is being widely applied in the farms.

Smart Precision Irrigation

According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Israel spends 17% of its agricultural budget on supporting scientific and technological research and development. Michael Levy, Senior Deputy Director-General of Agricultural Innovation of the Ministry, said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency recently that the government has invested about 5 million US dollars in agricultural digitization academic research in 2021 and about 35 million US dollars in agricultural science and technology. Practical transformation to drive adoption of digital farming. Among them, the water-saving-oriented precision irrigation system occupies a large proportion. Relying on the developed Internet of Things, big data and artificial intelligence technologies, the digital water saving revolution is quietly taking place in the fields of Israel.

Sunday, March 6, 2022

Yunnan promotes farmland water-saving irrigation

Micro Sprinkler Irrigation

Farmland Micro Sprinkler Irrigation


Water-saving irrigation equipment is widely used in the province's farmlands

Yunnan Net News (Reporter Wang Shujuan) The reporter recently learned from the Provincial Department of Water Resources that the effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water in our province will increase from 0.492 in 2020 to 0.502 in 2021. According to this calculation, the farmland irrigation water in our province in 2021 will save 9,200 yuan compared to 2020. 10,000 cubic meters, the water-saving benefit is equivalent to building a large (two) type reservoir.

At present, the three large-scale irrigation areas of Qujing, Binchuan and Qinglonghe have been included in the national "14th Five-Year Plan", and the investment in the construction of supporting facilities and modernization has been completed at 228 million yuan. Implemented 12 supporting and water-saving renovation projects for medium-sized irrigation areas, with a total investment of 435 million yuan. The province has vigorously carried out the establishment of water-saving irrigation districts, of which 3 large-scale irrigation districts have reached the establishment standard of "water-saving irrigation districts" by the Ministry of Water Resources.

Micro Spray Rain Pipe Irrigation

Micro Spray Rain Pipe Irrigation

The province Saved more than 90 million cubic meters of water in farmland irrigation in 2021

The Yunnan Provincial Department of Water Resources estimates that in 2021, farmland irrigation water in Yunnan will save 92 million cubic meters of water compared to 2020, and the water-saving benefit is equivalent to the water supply of a new large-scale reservoir.

According to the "2021 Yunnan Province Farmland Irrigation Water Effective Utilization Coefficient Calculation and Analysis Results Report", the Yunnan farmland irrigation water effective utilization coefficient has increased from 0.492 in 2020 to 0.502. Based on this calculation, in 2021, Yunnan's farmland irrigation water will save 92 million cubic meters compared to 2020.

In recent years, the Yunnan Provincial Department of Water Resources has promoted water conservation in various places through measures such as the continued construction and modernization of large-scale irrigation areas, the continued construction and water-saving renovation of medium-sized irrigation areas, and the construction of water-saving irrigation areas.

In 2021, the three large-scale irrigation areas of Qujing, Binchuan and Qingzhihe will be included in the national "14th Five-Year Plan", and the investment in supporting construction and modernization will be 228 million yuan. A total of 435 million yuan of investment has been completed. Yunnan has established water-saving irrigation areas in the province, of which 3 large-scale irrigation areas have reached the "water-saving irrigation area" standard of the Ministry of Water Resources; at the same time, the standardized and standardized management of irrigation areas has been strengthened, and water-saving irrigation technology has been vigorously promoted. The area of 10,000 mu and high-efficiency water-saving irrigation is 844,800 mu.

At the same time, in 2021, Yunnan Province will also promote water saving through the comprehensive reform of agricultural water price, and the newly increased area of comprehensive reform of agricultural water price in the province will be 4.9273 million mu.

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Smart Irrigation and Fertilization - Next Top Investment Opportunity?

Agriculture relies on soil, thrives on fertilization and irrigation. For a long time, the utilization rate of agricultural water and fertilizer in China has been at a low level. At the same time, the unreasonable application of fertilizer has caused a series of problems such as soil fertility destruction and soil pollution, etc, which seriously affected the sustainable development of agriculture.

Promoting water-saving irrigation, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers, applying fertilizers reasonably, and improving the utilization rate of water resources and chemical fertilizers are not only necessary conditions for building China's modern agriculture, but also strategic requirements for ensuring national water supply and food security and promoting sustainable development.

In recent years, with the increasing interest in the agricultural field, smart irrigation and fertilization equipment has gradually become a hot term in agriculture.

Integrated Irrigation & Fertilization

Smart Integrated Irrigation & Fertilization System

Smart irrigation and fertilization systems actually refer to the integration of water and fertilizer, which is a new agricultural technology that combines irrigation technology with fertilization technology. Its technical principle is to use the pressure system or the natural drop of the terrain to blend the soluble fertilizer with the irrigation water, and irrigate and fertilize at the same time through the pipeline system, which can meet the needs of crops for water and nutrients in a timely and appropriate amount, and has the advantages of saving fertilizer and water. The advantages of saving labor and effort, reducing humidity, reducing diseases, and increasing yield and high efficiency will effectively improve the efficiency of water and fertilizer utilization.

Huge Potential for Irrigation and Fertilization Equipment Market with Support from National Policies

At this stage, the irrigation water utilization coefficient of China's farmlands is about 0.54, lower than the world's advanced level (0.7-0.8), it is imperative to improve water resource utilization efficiency through water-saving irrigation.

The "14th Five-Year Plan" clearly proposes to build a water-saving society, promote water-saving irrigation, add 60 million mu of high-efficiency water-saving irrigation area, and create 200 water-saving irrigation areas. By 2025, 1.07 billion high-standard farmland will be built nationwide. mu.

On January 17, 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a document stating that it will strengthen measures and strive to increase the utilization rate of chemical fertilizers and pesticides by another 3 percentage points by 2025 to promote a comprehensive green transformation of agricultural production methods. On September 6, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the "National High-standard Farmland Construction Plan (2021-2030)" document, which clearly pointed out that high-efficiency water-saving irrigation and high-standard farmland construction should be planned and implemented simultaneously. Mu added high-efficiency water-saving irrigation construction tasks.

According to the data analysis of Guanyan Report Network, from 2015 to 2020, the market size of China's water-saving irrigation equipment industry has increased from 60.44 billion yuan to 115 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 13.7%. In the future, based on the support of national policies and growers With the gradual improvement of water-saving awareness, it is estimated that the market size of China's water-saving irrigation equipment industry will reach 238.46 billion yuan by 2024. 

China irrigation equipment industry

China Water-saving Irrigation Equipment Market Size, 2015-2024 Prospect

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Use Less Water to Better Irrigate and Cultivate

 Comprehensive measures have been taken to reduce the overexploitation of agricultural groundwater, and the groundwater level of all 67 deep-level overexploitation counties (cities, districts) in Hebei, China has risen!

[Summary] Since the 1980s, the groundwater level has dropped due to overexploitation of groundwater in North China. This not only increases the cost of agricultural production, but also may cause ecological and environmental problems such as land subsidence, cracks, and seawater inversion.

In recent years, Hebei Province has promoted comprehensive management of groundwater overexploitation. On the basis of ensuring food production, it has focused on water use, watering, and water extraction, highlighted the application of science and technology, enriched water-saving measures, and reduced groundwater exploitation.

Water-saving Irrigation

Use less water- Adjust planting structure and promote drought-resistant varieties

In recent years, Hebei Province has explored dry farming and rain farming according to local conditions. In some areas, crops such as irrigated vegetables and potatoes have been changed to dry and rain-fed crops such as flax, oats, and pasture. In Cangzhou, Hengshui and other places in the deep groundwater over-exploitation areas, the local crops such as irrigated wheat and corn have been changed to rape, millet, peanut and other crops.

At the same time, Hebei Province is exploring the seasonal fallow system. In Cangzhou, Hengshui, Xingtai, Handan, etc., the planting of wheat and corn in two seasons a year is changed to only one season of millet, sorghum, peanuts and other crops, reducing irrigation water, and the scale of fallow exceeds 2 million mu. According to statistics, seasonal fallow farming reduces groundwater exploitation by about 150 cubic meters per mu of land each year.

In 2021, 800 mu of wheat from Jinkefu Wheat Planting Professional Cooperative in Wangzhuang Village, Fourth Tuan Town, Quzhou County, Handan City will usher in a bumper harvest. According to the person in charge of the cooperative, since the water-saving wheat was planted, it only needs to be watered twice a year, saving labor, money and water, and the output has not decreased. "By planting drought-resistant and water-saving varieties of wheat, and supporting comprehensive water-saving and moisture-saving technologies such as deep soil loosening and straw returning to the field, it is possible to reduce watering twice during the wheat growth period." said Li Jinkong, deputy director of the Quzhou County Agriculture and Rural Bureau.

Over the years, Hebei Province has organized wheat breeding experts to cultivate more than 50 drought-resistant and water-saving varieties, and provided them to households for free, organized agricultural technicians to go deep into the fields, instruct farmers to plant water-saving wheat varieties, and implement straw returning and fine land preparation. , precision seeding and other comprehensive supporting water-saving planting technology.

Since 2014, Hebei Province has promoted more than 34 million mu of drought-resistant and water-saving varieties of wheat, and the frequency of watering wheat fields has gradually decreased from 3-4 times before 2014 to 2-3 times now.

Irrigate less- Promote water-saving irrigation and improve water use efficiency

A few days ago, in the greenhouse in Houdagongzhuang Village, Qianying Town, Fengnan District, Tangshan City, villager Zhao Chengjiang was preparing to water the newly planted tomato seedlings. After he pressed the start button, the drip irrigation system all over the greenhouse began to irrigate automatically, and the water was sent to the roots of the vegetable seedlings by the drip pipe.


It is understood that there are more than 300 greenhouses in Houdagongzhuang Village, all of which are currently using drip irrigation. "The water saving rate of drip irrigation is more than 60%. For vegetable farmers with large water consumption, it can effectively reduce irrigation costs and save water." Wang Lianyou, head of the Qianying Town Agricultural Comprehensive Service Center, said.

An intelligent drip irrigation control system has also been introduced into the Qianmu Baby Vegetable Base in Qilijian Village, Liushouying Town, Funing District, Qinhuangdao City. "In previous years, the traditional irrigation method consumed a lot of manpower and water resources; after adopting smart drip irrigation, the water volume of each seedling can be precisely controlled by using a mobile phone anytime, anywhere, so that every drop of water can play the greatest role." The base is responsible for People Jinliang said.

In recent years, Hebei Province has focused on the promotion of high-efficiency water-saving irrigation technology and equipment such as sprinkler irrigation, smart drip irrigation, and integrated water and fertilizer drip irrigation. .

In 2021, Hebei Province will promote technologies such as drip irrigation and shallow burial drip irrigation under plastic film, and the water-saving planting area will reach 7.3 million mu, with an average water saving of about 60 cubic meters per mu. In addition, Hebei Province has laid anti-seepage pipelines for field crops in the 33-million-mu well-irrigated area to promote pipe irrigation, reduce field water leakage, save agricultural water, and improve water efficiency.

Extract less underground water - Improve water conservancy projects and replace groundwater with surface water

A few years ago, due to the continuous decline of the groundwater level in Dongwuji Village, Feixiang District, Handan City, the wells were drilled deeper and deeper, making it very difficult to irrigate the wheat fields.

In this regard, Feixiang District implemented the project of "Diverting the Yellow River into the Canal", allowing the wheat fields to "drink" the Yellow River water, which not only solved the problem of difficult irrigation, but also protected the groundwater. "In the past, a large well (pumping groundwater) irrigated 80 yuan per mu of land, but now it costs 40 yuan to irrigate one mu of land with water from the Yellow River." A villager said happily.

In recent years, the central and southern Hebei region, which is located in the center of the "Funnel District" in North China, focuses on making good use of the water of the Yellow River, the Laosha River, and the Fuyang River. Through measures such as rebuilding irrigation areas, building ditches, and controlling small and medium-sized rivers and pits, the surface of Water irrigation replaces groundwater extraction.

The long Laosha River runs through 5 towns in Qiuxian County, Handan City from southwest to northeast. Historically, due to excessive cultivation and deforestation, the two banks of the Laosha River were dilapidated. Since 2020, Qiu County will promote the construction and improvement of the "three networks" project of water network, forest network and road network. Among them, in terms of water network, according to the idea of ​​"watering during droughts, draining during floods, and storing during normal times", Qiu County dredged and expanded 90 canals with a total length of more than 460 kilometers, and renovated 94 pits and ponds; Increase the surface water irrigation area from 150,000 mu to 450,000 mu. In the past two years, the Laosha River with sufficient water has not only reduced farmers' land irrigation costs, but also increased crop yields.

The 600 acres of land planted in 2021 by Wu Dongchao, a major planter in Qiucheng Township, Qiu County, will all be watered with river water. "In the past, farmers used groundwater to irrigate the land at a cost of 60 yuan per mu. Now they use river water to irrigate the land, and they only cost 10 yuan per mu each time." Wu Dongchao said. It is understood that through the construction of the "Three networks" project, Qiu County can save 45 million yuan in land irrigation costs and 57 million cubic meters of groundwater extraction every year.

Source: People's Daily (page 15 on January 25, 2022)

Smart Agriculture Automatic Water-Saving Irrigation System - Remote One-Key Control

 Automatic irrigation and fertilization is mainly realized by automatic irrigation and fertilization machine, which can realize remote control, reduce labor intensity, improve the utilization rate of water and fertilizer, and formulate corresponding irrigation and fertilization plans for different crops.

Water-saving Irrigation

Integrated Irrigation & Fertilization System

The Internet of Things water and fertilizer integrated water and fertilizer system performs automatic irrigation and fertilization control, and with fertilizer buckets, it can realize functions such as regular irrigation and fertilization, regular light supplementation, and remote control. Combined with irrigation water-saving technology, crop cultivation technology and operation management technology of water-saving irrigation project, the whole process is controlled by mobile phone cloud to realize the automation, networking and platformization of water and fertilizer integration, and realize precise, scientific and efficient fertilization and irrigation of water and fertilizer coupling.

Install a solenoid valve and a flow meter in each irrigation area for automatic control. Irrigation can be irrigated regularly and quantitatively according to the preset program, or the flow can be ordered according to the data returned by the flow meter.

Intelligent Agricultural Water-saving Irrigation System

The intelligent agricultural water-saving irrigation automation control system organically combines irrigation water-saving technology, crop cultivation technology and water-saving irrigation project operation management technology, and integrates electronic information technology, remote measurement and control network technology, computer (mobile phone) control technology and information. It integrates acquisition and processing technology, and builds an automatic monitoring and control system for water supply flow, pressure, soil moisture, and meteorological data through a computerized and modular design program, simulates and optimizes water and soil environmental factors, and stores and analyzes data. , with big data processing technology, to achieve the approximation control of technical control indicators such as irrigation water saving, crop physiology, soil moisture, etc., so as to realize the automation, networking and platformization of water and fertilizer integration.

The Future of Agriculture Is Vertical Farm?

 Agricultural technology has never been the favorite of investment and is often classified as an industry that is unlikely to generate signi...