SUBSIDIES TO DIGITAL PLATFORMS
The Government of the Russian Federation approved the rules for providing subsidies to domestic companies for the reimbursement of part of the costs of developing digital platforms and software products.
Subsidies will be provided on a competitive basis in the amount of 50% of the actual costs incurred for the development of digital products.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, between 2019 and 2021, 2 billion rubles will be allocated annually for these purposes.
Based on materials from tass.ru
ROBOTS AGAINST Pests
Scientists at Tomsk Polytechnic University have designed a robot to combat the Colorado potato beetle. A promising development was presented at the beginning of April at the exhibition “Tomsk Science for AIC”, opened as part of the regional Rural Assembly in the administration of the Tomsk Region.
The device consists of a self-propelled platform on wheels, equipped with navigation systems, technical vision, mechanical impact and spot chemical processing. Clutches and larvae of pests are destroyed by local treatment with pesticides. The adult shakes off the Colorado potato beetle from the bush and also locally treats it with pesticides.
In eight hours, the robot is able to clear a hectare of potato fields from the bug. After minor modifications, he will be able to work around the clock.
“The use of the robot will allow several times to reduce the use of chemicals and fuel and help to increase the yield,” says the project manager Alexander Tyryshkin.
Field tests of the robot will begin this summer. The device is intended for use in small farms. But scientists are ready to create a similar platform for large potato enterprises.
Based on materials from rg.ru
HARVEST IN ANY WEATHER
Norwegian fertilizer maker Yara International and IBM have signed an agreement to create a digital platform to provide agronomic advice to farmers.
Yara and IBM will develop digital solutions that allow farmers to optimize field practices to increase yields.
The future platform will use artificial intelligence to process a large amount of data. Its activities should affect 100 million hectares of agricultural land, or about 7% of arable land worldwide.
One of the main areas of cooperation will be an effective response to weather conditions.
Analytical information from Watson Studio IBM, IBM PAIRS technology, The Weather Company and other services will be correlated with Yara agronomic consultations.
This will enable the unified platform to provide hyper-local weather forecasts as well as work recommendations for growers - in real time, tailored to the specific needs of individual fields / crops.
At the first stage, Yara and IBM will create joint innovative teams that will work in digital centers in Europe, Singapore, the USA and Brazil. The platform should be operational by the end of this year.
Based on materials from agropravda.com
ABOUT PRODUCTS - NO SECRETS
IBM officials announced the full launch of the Food Trust, a blockchain platform for supply chain tracking. The blockchain solution allows you to trace the path of the goods from the recipient to the supplier in a few seconds, while traditional databases require several days or weeks for this.
Nestfe Corporation, the French supermarket chain Carrefour, the American agricultural corporation Dole Food, Unilever, Kroger and Walmart retail chains have already joined the network of platform participants. One of the first products, on the example of which the platform developers demonstrated its capabilities, was instant mashed potato of the French brand Mousline.
Customers can scan the QR code on the package of mashed potatoes to find out where the potatoes were grown, from which the semi-finished product was made, and in which stores of the Carrefour network it is available. In addition, the blockchain platform platform will inform the client about the potato variety, its production dates, quality control results, the place and dates of storage of the product before it appears on the shelf.
Based on materials from blockspoint.com
EFFICIENCY TESTS
The Ministry of Agriculture of China has selected ten enterprises for growing crops, on the basis of which from this year tests of modern unmanned equipment developed by scientists of the country will be conducted.
The farms will use self-propelled tractors, seeders, combines, agrodrons and fertilizer application equipment. All technical tools will be tested in a variety of conditions.
Experiments on the introduction of agrodrones, for example, will be carried out both in the plain and in the hilly areas, with the cultivation of various crops - from rice, wheat and vegetables to cotton, fruits and tobacco.
The test process can last until 2025, such a long time will help identify technology weaknesses and find the most effective solutions.
It should be noted that China’s increased interest in digital technologies is not accidental: many of the traditional Chinese grain-producing farms today face a shortage of labor in the countryside, as young people prefer to work in the city. Large agricultural enterprises (the number of which is growing steadily in China) are also interested in unmanned agribusiness to solve the problem of labor shortages and at the same time to modernize production.
Based on materials from agroxxi.ru
VEGETABLES AND FRUITS - IN APPENDIX
Chinese Agricultural Company Farmmi Inc. announced the launch of a mini-application for the sale of fruits and vegetables based on the largest local social network WeChat. Thanks to the integrated payment system, customers will be able to place an order from mobile devices. It is noted that due to the launch of the Farmmi Baba pilot program, the development company intends to increase the share of electronic commerce and create another sales channel for perishable products. The target customers of the company are wholesale buyers: traders, suppliers and distributors.
Based on FruitNews