A working conference, held by the Ministry of Agriculture last week, focused on “Internet Plus” modern agriculture, in an effort to further integrate the internet with traditional agriculture and fuel economic growth.

“Internet Plus” modern agriculture is combining new technologies with the whole industrial chain of modern agriculture.

Information technology has been greatly promoted in the new demonstration zones to upgrade traditional agriculture under the accurate “calculation” of big data, leading to optimal allocation of agricultural resources.

“Since 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture has established demonstration zones in eight provinces to promote Internet of Things in agriculture, through which 426 technologies, products and application models have been introduced,” said Wang Xiaobing, deputy director of market department under the Ministry of Agriculture.

A comprehensive information system has also been established in rural area to further increase farmers’ income and narrow the gap between rural and urban areas.

“At present, the number of netizens in rural area has reached 195 million, and farmers are no longer just traditional producers of agricultural products, but also know how to run a business,” said Zhuang Rongwen, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as of the end of May, 19,316 information agencies that provide online agricultural knowledge and trading opportunities have been established in rural areas. They provided public service for more than 92 million people and reached an online trade volume of 1.15 billion yuan.