In Beijing's Chaolai Agricultural Park, screens in the smart greenhouse display real-time data on soil moisture and temperature, allowing staff to manage irrigation and lighting with just a click. In the fields, a team of "new farmers" adeptly operates digital devices, integrating technology into every aspect of agricultural production. This park, recognized as both a "National Digital Agriculture Innovation Application Base" and a "National Ecological Farm," has become a benchmark for the digital transformation of agriculture. This transformation is largely attributed to the park's leader, Zhou Jingdong, a visionary committed to agricultural modernization, whose dedication has revitalized the park and guided regional agricultural development. This year, he was honored with the title of Model Worker in Beijing.
Upon taking on the leadership role, Zhou faced numerous challenges at Chaolai Agricultural Park. In 2021, the "National Digital Agriculture Innovation Application Base" project was launched, which he identified as crucial for the park's renewal. He immersed himself in the project, leading his team to document issues related to aging facilities and outdated technologies while figuring out the direction for digital agricultural development. He worked tirelessly to coordinate resources and resolve obstacles related to policy alignment and infrastructure support.
During construction, Zhou encountered continuous challenges, such as unstable network signals affecting data transmission and incompatibility issues between smart devices and existing systems. He spent day and night at the park, working with technicians to adjust parameters in control rooms and test equipment in the fields, constantly seeking solutions. During the rainy season, rough weather created muddy conditions when wiring the greenhouses. Zhou rushed to the construction site at night, flashlight in hand, ensuring the workers understood the importance of sealing connectors to protect the control system from rain. He continued his work relentlessly, even as rain soaked through his clothes.
After persistent efforts, the park established an advanced agricultural comprehensive management platform capable of real-time collection and analysis of soil conditions and meteorological data, providing precise decision-making support for crop growth. Smart irrigation and fertilization systems were launched, ensuring accurate supply of water and nutrients based on crop needs, significantly enhancing resource efficiency. The greenhouse technology allowed for one-click adjustments of temperature, humidity, and lighting.
To guarantee accurate data collection, Zhou was hands-on in the digital agriculture project, personally calibrating sensors and inspecting data transmission devices. He established a comprehensive agricultural data collection system that allowed for real-time monitoring of crop growth environments. Once a neglected space, Chaolai Agricultural Park has regained its status as a focal point in the industry, attracting many agricultural professionals and visitors eager to learn.
Recognizing the need for expertise, Zhou understood that digital agriculture depended heavily on skilled personnel. "Even the best equipment is ineffective if there’s no one to operate or maintain it." He proactively organized employee training, generously sharing his knowledge and experiences acquired from the project's implementation.
During training sessions, Zhou operated the smart control system while explaining key operation points: "This parameter corresponds to the water requirements during the flowering stage of the crop. Adjustments must factor in real-time soil moisture levels rather than fixed values." He patiently demonstrated the operation process until every participant could independently calibrate the equipment. Beyond basic training, Zhou also gathered young staff to form a "new farmer" team, aiming to cultivate skilled and reliable personnel.
To enhance the team's professional skills and practical abilities, Zhou conducted regular training sessions, inviting experts from the agricultural technology sector to discuss advanced topics such as big data analysis and AI applications in agriculture. He organized case study sessions, where he helped young employees analyze both successful and failed instances of digital agriculture application. Each case study was tailored to the park’s realities, facilitating experience sharing. When young staff proposed technical improvements, like refining pest and disease alert algorithms by incorporating local climate data, Zhou guided them through feasibility studies, from data collection to model testing, encouraging innovation and initiative.
Throughout the intelligent transformation of the park, Zhou actively cooperated with design and construction firms, providing optimization recommendations based on the park’s crop varieties and layout. Ultimately, the park implemented multiple innovative aspects, including remote smart control and visualization, marking the transition from a “basic functional” to a “smartphone-like” integrated control system in greenhouses. It became the first fully domestically integrated smart control application park in Beijing, significantly improving production efficiency and quality while reducing costs and resource waste.
"Digital agriculture is not just a 'one-man show' for the park; its true value lies in empowering more people with advanced technology to drive regional agricultural progress." Following the establishment of the “National Digital Agriculture Innovation Application Base,” Zhou turned his focus to the conversion and promotion of agricultural tech achievements.
In 2023, Chaolai Agricultural Park was designated an agricultural technology demonstration base. Zhou had previously cataloged the park's cultivation work, selecting eight agricultural technologies that spanned smart planting management, efficient water-saving irrigation, and green pest control, among others. To make these technologies viable, he actively participated in practical optimizations, such as observing spray patterns during water conservation tests and comparing the efficacy of biological pest control to solve issues of low efficiency and high costs.
Additionally, Zhou vigorously promoted new technologies through technical training and field demonstrations. At these demonstrations, he showcased how precision water control not only meets crop needs but also minimizes waste of water resources. During training sessions, he connected the technology back to specific planting cases within the park, clarifying how "data can guide real production."
These initiatives enabled park employees to master new technologies effectively, facilitating the transition and application of agricultural scientific achievements while enhancing the overall technological standard of regional agriculture.
From driving the park's transformation and training new farmers to advancing regional agricultural progress, Zhou Jingdong continues to pursue his dream and sense of responsibility for agricultural modernization while steadfastly contributing to rural revitalization through digital agriculture.