In recent years, Zhejiang authorities have built 400 digital agriculture factories and 2,200 e-commerce demonstration villages across the province, pushing forward the in-depth application of digital technologies into the farming, animal husbandry, and fishery sectors. 

In a village in Jiashan county, rows of greenhouses, managed by Zhejiang Yiligu Agricultural Technology Co, have been installed with electronic sensors, which constantly monitor humidity, temperature, and insect attacks indoors.

"We have adopted advanced technologies, such as hydroponic farming and hydraulic nanometer membranes in growing tomatoes, cabbages, celery, and other leaf vegetables," said Sun Jun, chairman of Zhejiang Yiligu Agricultural Technology Co.

According to Sun, only one individual is in charge of the operation of the entire vegetable plantation, which spans 30-plus mu (20,000 square meters), and the worker is able to stay well informed about the plantation's current status by clicking on the updates sent to his cellphone.

The greenhouses are equipped with smart systems that automatically adjust their temperature, illumination intensity, moisture, and other conditions that affect the growth of vegetables.

In Huangyan district of Taizhou, which is a well-known orange production base, the local government has pooled all the key facts about the oranges into a real-time updated map that provides growers with scientific guidance.

"Zhejiang is accelerating the thorough digitization of the entire industrial chain for the agriculture sector, involving production, logistics, regulation, service, and governance, so that a highly modernized agriculture sector can enrich more and more farmers," said Tang Dongshou, deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

A digital agriculture system is in use in an orange orchard in Taizhou's Huangyan district. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]