An unmanned tractor goes into action at China's first high-tech corn farm in Chenjiadian village of Nong'an county, Jilin province, on April 25, 2021. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Modern agriculture development in Northeast China's Jilin province has tremendously changed local people's production methods and lifestyles as the province encouraged enterprises to carry out research and development in agricultural science and technology in recent years.

In Jilin city, staff members from Jilin Yungeng Agriculture Co Ltd are busy developing a scientific and reasonable planting scheme for farmers who use their agricultural big data service platform.

"With the help of big data processing, including precise images taken by satellites, measurement of fields and chemical fertilizer, our staff members can make more accurate output forecasts and help bring more profits for farmers," said Wang Liying, the founder and president of the company. "According to the structure and quality of the black soil, we can provide suggestions on what and how to plant."

Wang, 50, started the company in 2015 and began to develop the platform with the help of a 12-member team after around three years of nationwide investigations on agricultural big data.

"In fact, agricultural big data hasn't aroused much attention around 2010," she said. "With years of experience of big data work in an industrial company, I hoped to do something for my hometown."

After three years of research and development, her platform was put into use in September 2018, providing big data that can be used to manage crop growth and enhance brand value.

"The platform is suitable for the integration of regional agriculture," she said. "Based on big data, we can master the planting structure of a township, a province or even the whole world, and then we can provide good suggestions on what to plant and how much to plant according to market demand."

The platform can provide data to help farmers decide how to protect farmland, improve seed quality, and prevent and control disease and insects.

As of the end of 2020, Yungeng has established the platform via cooperation with local governments in five regions in Jilin, Sichuan and Hunan provinces and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

"It is expected to establish another 45 platforms this year as more agricultural departments begin to realize the advantage of big data," she said. "We will continue to improve our technology and try our best to promote the sustainable development of digital villages."