Sinochem launches intelligent farming platform

HEFEI, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Sinochem Group has launched an intelligent agricultural platform in east China's Anhui Province, which the major producer of chemicals and fertilizer hopes will help make farming work easier.

An online-offline combination, it can provide a wide range of services ranging from seed selection to soil detection and machinery training.

Qin Hengde, president of Sinochem's agricultural unit, described the platform as an agricultural trusteeship that enables both the direct supply of fertilizer, seeds and pesticides and contract farming of standardized, unified sales. "Costs become lower, and production and sales are matched," Qin said.

The platform, the first of its kind by Sinochem, has started operation in Anhui's Lujiang County. The province is one of the country's major grain-producing regions.

Sinochem is seeking to restructure its agricultural unit, shifting its focus from sales of agri-materials to agri-technology solutions.

Satisfactory results have been seen in mechanized production of agricultural products including rice, corn and wheat, according to the company. Demonstration farms with a combined area of one million mu (around 66,000 hectares) were built in Anhui, Jilin and Jiangsu provinces, among others.

Sinochem plans to promote the platform nationwide by building more than 50 technical service centers by the end of the next year. Enditem