23/10/2019
Rural Digitalization - Part 2/2
The Wall Street Journal has also highlighted the wave of agricultural investment boom. The Wall Street Journal stated that due to the low price of wireless networking technology, tools for collecting data and monitoring crops are getting more and more sophisticated, added with entrepreneurs looking for new market demand as well as consumers’ attention on food safety, making the food supply chain be more transparent. The report also identified five key investment areas, namely “Precise Agriculture”, indoor farms, food safety, farm robots and alternative food solution.
The development of agricultural science and technology is largely related to the aging of rural population. Because in the case of reduced labour, it is imperative to use technology to improve farming efficiency. In April 2016, the G7 Agriculture Ministers Meeting was held in Niigata, Japan. According to the data released during the meeting, among the other six major industrial countries besides Canada, the agricultural population over 55 years old has risen from 33% in 2002 to 42% in 2012, indicating relatively higher rate of aging. Therefore, several countries have called for a higher ratio of young people and women devoting to agricultural industry in order to cope with the rising global population and increasing food demand. In addition, besides allowing the older generations of farmers be easier in managing farming, young farmers shall be encourage to participate actively in agriculture industry.
With the arrival of big data era, agricultural technology added with the development of data processing, we strongly believe that technology has helped to connect peasant farmers with the market and transform the way of peasant villages doing business. Therefore, it is very likely to realize the vision of improving the livelihood of the farmers from the fundamental aspect of social economy.
Today, digital is no longer part of the economy, but is the economy itself. According to a study conducted by the MIT Sloan School of Management, companies that can comply with the digital trend are 26% more profitable than other companies in the same industry. Therefore, a correct use of digital technology can help to transform the rural areas and establish a thoroughly new ecosystem for the rural areas to surpass the traditional direct supply chain and hence move towards the direction of agricultural Internet of Things.
- END -
《华尔街日报》也曾点出这波农业投资热潮现象。《华尔街日报》指出,由于无线连网科技价格便宜,收集资料和监测作物的工具越来越进步,再加上创业者寻找新的市场需求以及消费者对于食品安全的重视,让食物供应链变得更透明。报导中也点出五大关键投资领域,包括“精准农业”、室内农场、食品安全、农场机器人和替代食品。
农业科技的发展,其实跟农村人口老化很有关系。因为在劳力减少的情况下,运用科技提升耕作效益势在必行。2016年4月,日本新潟举行了G7农业部长会议。根据会中公布数据,除了加拿大以外,在其他六大工业国中,55岁以上的农业人口已经从2002年的33%上升到2012年的42%,老化程度相当高。因此,各国呼吁要提升年轻人和女性从农比率,以应对全球人口日益增加,粮食需求升高的趋势。除了让老一辈农民能够更轻鬆管理农务,也要吸引青年农民积极参与农事。
那随着大数据时代的来临,农业科技搭上数据化的演算翅膀,我们深信以科技连结农民与市场,改变农村做生意的方式,进而从社会经济的根本面改善农民的生活的愿景是很有希望实现的。
现在,数位已经不是经济的一部分,数位它本身就是经济。根据麻省理工史隆管理学院的一项研究显示,能顺应数位潮流的企业,获利率比同产业的其它产业高出26%。故此,善用数位科技协助农村转型,可以为农村打造一个全新的生态系统,超越传统的直线式供应链,进一步朝农业物联网的方向迈进。
- 完 -