Smart Agriculture

BeiDou navigation technology contributes to the modernisation of agriculture in both China and Africa

Large maize harvesters with autopilot system are significantly enhancing the productivity of local farmers in Botou, north China’s Hebei Province, who are excited about the fact that the cutting-edge technologies are freeing up their hands. According to Li Tielian, an offlcial from the city’s Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, there are more than 200 smart farming machines in the city, including drones, sprayers, seeding machines, tractors and harvesters, all of which are supported by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS).

To effectively monitor autonomous harvesters at work, farmers just define the routes and settings using the BeiDou positioning service and 5G technology. It is anticipated that autonomous harvesting would boost output and decrease grain losses.

On 31 July 2020, China launched its independently built and run BDS, which has since been adopted by a number of different industries. The combined use of BeiDou intelligent monitoring terminals and assisted driving systems will be encouraged, according to this year’s No.1 Central Document, an offlcial document on agriculture released in February. In recent years, BDS has been used to improve farming efflciency at various stages of agricultural production, including ploughing, planting and harvesting.

Hi-tech farming

Heilongjiang Province in northeast China is the country’s primary producer of grain. According to Han Zhimin, director of a crop planting cooperative in Yilan County of the province, BDS-related agricultural technologies are playing an increasingly important role in improving farming efflciency. Last year, more than 8,000 mu (533

A drone with BDS collects data on a farm in Laixi, Shandong Province, on 28 February

An agricultural technician downloads and analyses data collected by a drone with BDS on a farm in Laixi, Shandong Province, on 28 February