Pinduoduo’s Smart Agriculture Competition inspires young researchers to develop practical precision technology
26 Abril 2022 - 10:55AM
Agronomists and data scientists taking part in Pinduoduo’s Smart
Agriculture Competition developed easy-to-use precision greenhouse
management technology that boosted productivity and yield without
need for special training on the part of growers.
The tomato-growing greenhouse challenge was won by
TomaGrow, made up mostly of alumni from Wageningen University &
Research and China Agricultural University with deep industry
experience. They beat three other teams in the final after being
evaluated on yield, nutritional value, environmental sustainability
and commercial viability. Over 120 researchers globally from 15
teams were shortlisted for the preliminary round of the
competition.
During the six-month challenge, contestants took
different approaches, combining nutrition science, computer vision,
deep learning, and other precision farming technology to cultivate
tomatoes remotely. The teams adjusted variables such as humidity,
lighting and nutrient profiles from afar, showcasing the ability to
manage growing operations remotely.
The teams managed to deliver yields that are about
double the yields of traditional growers, according to experts. The
nutritional value also registers in the top range of the industry,
based on the inspection report from a leading food testing
institute.
This is the second year that Pinduoduo has hosted
the Smart Agriculture Competition. This year, the company partnered
with China Agricultural University and Zhejiang University to
organize the event, with technical support from the UN’s Food and
Agriculture Organization and Wageningen University & Research.
The competition also worked with a reputable institute to measure
the carbon footprint for each team to establish benchmarks for
future reference.
"Our global agri-food systems need innovative
solutions to sustainably nourish people while nurturing our
planet,” said Carlos Watson, FAO representative to China. "The
Smart Agriculture Competition provides a unique platform for
engaging young people, technologists, innovators, private sector
and research institutes together, to incubate tailor-made practical
solutions of addressing the real-life problems faced by smallholder
farmers."
With about 80% of the participants in their 20s,
the Smart Agriculture Competition has become a platform for young
talented agricultural researchers to work on real-life “pain
points” and develop practical solutions.
“Through this competition, we want to encourage
more young people to make a meaningful impact in agriculture
through technology,” said Li Daoliang, Dean of the International
College of China Agricultural University. “These young talents are
very important drivers for the agricultural modernization.”
One of the unique aspects of the competition is the
emphasis on commercial viability in addition to productivity and
sustainability. To ensure they are developing applications that are
practical and cost-effective, all four finalists made sure to
include commercial growers in their teams.
TomaGrow, the winning team, developed an
easy-to-use greenhouse management model that integrates algorithms
and sensors, and which can be used by farmers without special
training. It was able to go one step further in developing a
disease prediction model that gave farmers a one-week window to
intervene and prevent loss.
“Agriculture is an industry with very low fault
tolerance. Once disease occurs, it may deliver a devastating blow,”
said Xu Dan, team leader of TomaGrow. The team will implement the
model in larger-scale pilot projects in Beijing and Yunnan, with
plans to offer the product commercially to tomato growers across
the country.
Hamato and CyberTomato, two other finalist teams
with academic backgrounds, also have plans to promote their
greenhouse management systems to growers across China to help boost
productivity and reduce costs through improving efficiencies.
Hamato developed low-cost and low-pollution carbon
dioxide enrichment equipment that can enhance plant growth.
CyberTomato trained computers to recognize how well the tomatoes
were growing using visual recognition technology, which would help
farmers to make better decisions on irrigation and harvesting.
“The event offers a good opportunity for young
scientists to understand whom the technology is being developed
for,” said He Yong, Dean of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science
College of Zhejiang University. “This will broaden their horizon
and provide value insights for their future work and research.”
Pinduoduo is organizing the annual competition as
part of its support for efforts to improve and modernize the
agriculture industry through technology. Since its founding in
2015, the company has made agriculture a key pillar of its
strategy. As China’s largest agriculture platform, Pinduoduo
directly connects 16 million farmers with over 850 million
consumers. Last August, it unveiled a 10 Billion Agriculture
Initiative to address critical needs in the agricultural sector and
rural areas.
In parallel with the competition, the company is
conducting a research project with Wageningen University &
Research on enhancing tomato quality using sustainable growing
methods.
“The driving force for the improvement of the
agricultural industry comes from the development and application of
technology,” said Andre Zhu, Senior Vice President at Pinduoduo.
“We want to play our part to improve food security and quality in a
sustainable way.”
About Pinduoduo Inc.
Pinduoduo connects millions of agricultural
producers with consumers across China. Pinduoduo aims to bring more
businesses and people into the digital economy so that local
communities can benefit from the increased productivity and
convenience through new market opportunities. For more information
on Pinduoduo and industry trends, please visit the content hub at
https://stories.pinduoduo-global.com.
Contact:
internationalmedia@pinduoduo.com
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