The key point is the coordinated development of "Agriculture 4.0".

In the process of industrialization, informationization, urbanization and agricultural modernization, agriculture, as the supply of raw materials for industrial production and the use of industrial finished products, is promoted by "Industry 4.0".

In 2013, Germany formally put forward the concept of "Industrial 4.0", which made clear the important role of informatization in industrialization. Two years later, in 2015, "Agriculture 4.0" is also noisy.

Recently, the Modern Agriculture 4.0 produced by the Beijing General supply and Marketing Cooperation (hereinafter referred to as "Beijing supply and Marketing Federation") appeared at the 2015 Beijing International Agricultural products Exhibition, which attracted the attention of people in the industry.

In fact, "Agriculture 4.0" showed signs as early as the beginning of the year. At that time, some industry experts called for the application of "Industrial 4.0" to agriculture.

A reporter from the China Science Daily learned in the interview that "Industry 4.0" broke the traditional industry boundaries and brought about cross-industry reorganization and integration, while agriculture, as the supply of raw materials for industrial production and the use of industrial finished products, will also be integrated into the changes of this era.

The birth of a concept

By the end of 2015, 500 mu of tomatoes will be planted in Liugong, Daxing District, Beijing: they will not grow in the soil, but will be hydroponically cultivated; people will wear protective clothing when they enter to prevent bacteria from entering; the greenhouse will automatically adjust the light according to the needs, and the light will be direct when the tomatoes need to grow fast, and adjust to the oblique angle when they need to grow slowly.

This is the Modern Agriculture 4.0 planned by the Beijing Federation of supply and Marketing, which will start a pilot project in the private sector in Daxing District at the end of the year.

According to Liu Fuqiang, head of the Cooperation and guidance Department of the Beijing Federation of supply and Marketing, since it can be produced all year round, the output here is equivalent to eight to ten times that of ordinary tomatoes. Due to the use of the Internet of things technology, these tomatoes will be traceable.

In this regard, the Beijing General supply and Marketing Association defines modern agriculture as the adoption of modern industrial production mode and automatic control system, the most advanced planting technology in the world, combined with big data's analysis, the use of Internet of things sensors and software to control agricultural production through mobile platforms or computer platforms, to achieve full traceability of agricultural products, and to make agricultural production more "intelligent". In order to produce efficient, safe and green agricultural products.

According to Li Daoliang, a professor at the School of Information and Electrical Engineering of China Agricultural University, who has been engaged in agricultural information research for a long time, this is not "Agriculture 4.0" in the real sense.

"Agriculture 4.0 is a form of modern agriculture supported by the Internet of things, big data, mobile Internet and cloud computing technology. it is the product of progress to a higher stage following traditional agriculture, mechanized agriculture and information (automation) agriculture." Li Daoliang said in an interview with a reporter from China Science Daily.

The flow of information is "pervasive"

In 2013, the German government proposed "Industrial 4.0", which caused great repercussions in the international community. Industrial technology and production mode, from mechanized production, electrified large-scale production, automation and information production, to networked and intelligent production, Germans vividly call them the four-level evolution of modern industrial model.

The same is true of agriculture. From 1.0 physical strength and energy labor agriculture to 2.0 mechanized agriculture, and then to 3.0 information (automation) agriculture, and finally reached the highest stage of modern agriculture 4.0.

"the important change brought about by the new round of industrialization is intelligent manufacturing, and agriculture, as the supply of raw materials for industrial production and the industry for the use of industrial manufactured goods, will also be integrated into the changes of this era. In the development of the intelligent era, that is, the 'agriculture 4.0' era." Li Daoliang said.

"if the concept of 'Industrial 4.0' is applied to agriculture, it is feasible, especially in sectors such as animal husbandry and farming." He Chuanqi, director of the China Modernization Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told China Science Daily.

In he Chuanqi's view, the development of modern agriculture comes from the innovation of agricultural science and technology and agricultural economy on the one hand, and the application of industrial technology in agricultural field on the other.

Today, due to the strong penetration of information technology such as the Internet of things, the pervasive flow of information and the rapid development of intelligence, the production, circulation and consumption of "Agriculture 4.0" will link up with each other. Labourers, labor tools and labor objects, the three elements of productivity, will also undergo essential changes.

Dr. Zhang Jianhua, assistant researcher of the Institute of Agricultural Information of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told China Science Daily that with the implementation of the national "Internet +" action plan, agriculture needs to make full use of modern information technology to build China's modern agriculture. It will be inevitable to speed up the transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture.

The "barrel effect" is outstanding.

In Li Daoliang's view, "Agriculture 4.0" is a new thing. At present, China is still in the stage of "definition of concept, richness of connotation, and design of demonstration projects". "Agriculture 4.0" is a high integration of modern information technology and a large investment. it is also risky and has a typical barrel effect.

In foreign countries, according to the location differences, American scholars divide modern agriculture into urban agriculture, suburban agriculture and rural agriculture. In the vast rural areas, the focus of modern agriculture is mechanization and informationization, develop large-scale "ecological agriculture" and "precision agriculture", and improve agricultural land productivity and labor productivity.

He Chuanqi told reporters that in cities and suburbs, it is feasible for modern agriculture to learn from the concept of "Industrial 4.0", "but it must be combined with organic agriculture."

"Agriculture is a high-risk industry, related not only to seasonality and shelf life, but also to climate and market changes." He Chuanqi said that in order to reduce agricultural risks, it is necessary to link advanced technology, advanced management and advanced business models. The simple use of high technology may lead to high output, but it may not necessarily have high efficiency and high returns.

As we all know, the economy and the market are "scarcity is precious". Agricultural efficiency is very high, agricultural products are rich, and the prices of agricultural products may fall.

"the key to controlling the cost of agricultural products is to control the 'relative cost', not the absolute cost, or to make input-output analysis or cost-benefit analysis to reduce the relative cost of agricultural products (relative to product prices). Benefit maximization rather than efficiency maximization." He Chuanqi said.

Coordinated development is the key.

The key to the development of "Agriculture 4.0" is the Internet, Internet of things, big data, and cloud computing technology. "Breakthrough the core technologies and major key technologies related to the Internet of things in agriculture. To meet the needs of the development of modern agriculture is the only way to the reality of" Agriculture 4.0 "." Li Daoliang said.

At present, the application of information technology in agriculture in China is not very large. When this cross-industry reform begins and the pace of the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries begins, how can traditional agriculture effectively deal with the opportunities and challenges brought by informatization?

There is no doubt that the pre-investment cost related to the information industry is huge. Once completed, the marginal cost of providing services for a single user is almost zero, which makes the threshold for future industry entry higher and higher. "if agricultural production wants to develop and expand, it must learn to cooperate and share information." An industry expert pointed out.

Li Daoliang believes that the research on special sensor technology for agriculture in China is still relatively lagging behind, especially in the research, development and manufacture of agricultural smart sensors, rfid and other sensing equipment, many application projects mainly rely on imported sensing equipment.

In Zhang Jianhua's view, in the aspect of agricultural Internet of things, the relevant sensor technology and wireless transmission technology have made great progress, which can basically meet the needs of the construction of modern agriculture 4.0. "however, attention should be paid to the combination of the Internet of things with big data's analysis, with the actual agricultural production, with the market circulation of agricultural products, and so on."

It is understood that at present, China Agricultural University, the National Agricultural Information Engineering Center, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other units have begun to develop agricultural sensing equipment, "but most of the products are still in the laboratory stage. There is a lot of gap between its products and foreign products, and there is still a certain distance from industrialization promotion." Li Daoliang said.

"'Agriculture 4.0' is the highest stage of modern agriculture. With the progress of technology, there may also be different periods of agriculture 4.0, such as primary, intermediate, advanced and final." Li Daoliang added.