Smart machinery, efficiency gains
Smart agriculture, as outlined under the Council of Agriculture’s Smart Agriculture 4.0 program, is based on a foundation of innovative technology that leads to applications drawing on the Internet of Things, big data and smart technology—all aimed at achieving innovations via smart production and management. At the same time, the program promotes Taiwan’s outstanding agricultural products to the world.
The Laopi tea plantation in Pingtung County’s Neipu Township, in the shadow of Mt. Beidawu at the southern end of the Central Mountain Range, provides an outstanding example of how to employ smart-agriculture technology.
The Taiwan Tea Corporation planted its first tea seedlings there in March of 2017. Today, Laopi has more than 200 hectares of flat land under cultivation, making it the largest tea plantation in Taiwan.
Steven Teng, a manager at TTC, points out that the Laopi plantation from the start introduced smart-agriculture concepts involving the mechanization of production and the digitization of crop data.
Looking out at the endless vistas of tea fields, Teng says, “We’re winning by working fast.”
Amid the green foliage of the tea plantation, women workers are operating picking machines. Each of these vehicles can pick three hectares per day. In comparison, traditional teams of three or four pickers couldn’t pick even half a hectare.
Its NT$200-million drip irrigation system imported from Israel is particularly unusual. The drip irrigation hoses, which are installed under the tea bushes, have holes every 40 centimeters. Just turn on the pump and you can irrigate ten hectares of the plantation. Each hour the system pumps out one liter per hole, but the paths between the tea bushes don’t get a single drop. The system conserves 70% of the water that would be used by a traditional sprinkler system.
“The drip irrigation system not only saves water; it also saves on electricity costs and manpower,” notes Teng. “That’s because we set it to irrigate at night when off-peak electricity charges apply—an approach that also cuts down on daytime losses of water through evaporation. And we run fertilizer through the system as well as water, enabling us to achieve our goal of practicing precision agriculture.”
In addition to automating work in the fields, the Laopi plantation’s managers want to record and digitize the experience and knowledge gained by the plantation’s tea processors over 20 years, and then use big-data computer applications to adjust the amounts of tealeaf “withering” and “rolling” to be done after picking. These adjustments will allow for customization, yielding leaves that brew with different aromas, colors and tastes.
Taoyuan’s YesHealth iFarm boasts a fully controllable smart farm system. With 14 levels, this vertical farming facility has more levels than any other greenhouse in the world. Its artificially controlled temperature, humidity and airflow settings give it an ability to mimic natural microclimates. Drawing on understanding of the “Backster effect,” the farm plays classical music at varying tempos to enhance plants’ absorption of nutrients. The vegetables in the greenhouse sway gently in the breeze as if dancing to the music.
The Laopi tea plantation’s irrigation system supplies water to 200 hectares and requires a team of only four workers to operate. From its founding, the plantation has been looking to systematic management and mechanized production to save on manpower.