In February 2025, the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs joined forces with the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences to unveil an action plan aimed at enhancing the agricultural technology demonstration and production service system. This initiative introduced the "two major platforms" — a technology consultation and training hub alongside a service management system — directly tackling the persistent bottleneck of bringing agri-tech solutions into rural households. It officially marked the beginning of a comprehensive digital overhaul of the capital's agricultural service framework.

Over the past year, the Academy has turned this vision into reality. The technology consultation platform operates on an "Agri-AI + Expert + Steward" model, empowering farmers to connect with specialists with just a tap on their phones. Meanwhile, the service management platform leverages agricultural IoT and big data to create a unified "map, network, and ledger" for Beijing's suburban farming areas, making scientific management traceable and measurable. Together, these platforms form the synergistic "digital wings" of the city's agricultural socialized services, providing strong support for the growth of a modern, high-efficiency, and high-impact urban agricultural sector.

Immediate Expert Advice at Your Fingertips

With the "Nong Ai Wen" cloud platform developed by the Academy, accessing agricultural support has become as simple as ordering takeout. Previously, farmers struggling with crop diseases often faced delays — finding an expert was tough, responses were slow, and explaining the issue precisely was challenging. Now, users can simply snap a photo or send a voice message through the platform, and within seconds, they receive detailed management recommendations.

This rapid response is powered by the platform's proprietary "Nongke Xiaozhi" multi-modal large model. Built on a high-quality corpus derived from two decades of agricultural knowledge and consultation data from hotlines like 12396, the model has been trained on information covering over 510 types of pests and diseases, 890,000 images, and 130,000 text entries. It can identify pests and diseases with over 92% accuracy. While routine queries are answered instantly, complex issues are escalated to a think tank of 153 senior experts from the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing University of Agriculture, and Beijing Vocational College of Agriculture, who conduct remote "diagnoses" via video calls or multimedia messaging. A dedicated team of "agricultural stewards" also monitors every interaction, guaranteeing that each inquiry receives a timely and satisfactory resolution.

The real proof of this system's value lies in the fields. Duanyun Agriculture in Pinggu District, a team of e-commerce entrepreneurs who transitioned to vegetable farming in 2022, have seen remarkable results. With the platform's long-term support, experts helped improve their soil, introduced fresh vegetable varieties, and offered full-cycle technical guidance. In 2025, their "Jinglv Feicui No.2" cucumber won a public favorite award at the China Beijing Seed Industry Conference, and in 2026, their "Jingfan Caixing No.1" cherry tomatoes took second prize in a regional fresh-market vegetable contest. Beyond the accolades, a banner and a handwritten letter of gratitude reflect their sincere appreciation for the support they received.

The century-old white pear trees in Junzhuang Town, Mentougou, have also found a new lease on life. Facing challenges with rejuvenation and care standards, over 300 ancient trees are now thriving under a conservation plan developed by platform experts. They provided hands-on field training for 70 technicians and fruit growers on green pest control methods and deployed a dedicated AI assistant for a local cooperative. This "Lixiaozhi" robot is equipped with a specialized pear cultivation knowledge base, serving as a digital steward for these heritage trees.

This wave of digital support is also nurturing a new generation of local experts. In Huaireou District, a village cadre and veteran named Han Jianpeng has been instrumental. After two years of mushroom cultivation training via the platform, he now interplants red pine mushrooms under kiwifruit trellises, achieving higher yields from the same land. By 2025, his 50-acre operation generated 360,000 yuan annually and created jobs for over a dozen villagers. To date, the platform has provided over 270,000 consultations, resolved more than 30,000 technical issues, served users across 11 provinces, and maintained a user satisfaction rate of over 96.5%.

Revolutionizing Agricultural Extension with New Media

While "Nong Ai Wen" focuses on one-on-one, precise problem-solving, the "Beijing Agricultural Science and Technology Lecture Hall," which launched in 2020, functions as a massive "airborne classroom" reaching millions. Over six years, it has developed a distinctive new media service model, combining precise needs assessment, interactive expert guidance, a multi-platform promotional strategy, and full industry chain support. This approach has earned it a first-place award for agricultural technology promotion and has been listed twice as a key practical task by the Beijing Municipal Government.

"What sets this model apart is its precision," explains Qiu Lin from the Academy's Institute of Data Science and Agricultural Economics. "Our research teams go deep into suburban areas to identify specific industry challenges, which we then use to tailor broadcast content, ensuring we hit the mark on service targets, audiences, methods, and expert selection."

As of June 2026, the lecture hall has hosted 320 live sessions, with a total network reach exceeding 11 million people through WeChat and Douyin. This engagement is estimated to have generated 460 million yuan in economic benefits. The sessions featuring academicians are particularly popular. A broadcast by Chinese Academy of Engineering member Zhao Chunjiang on digital agriculture attracted over 14,000 live viewers, effectively bringing modern concepts to the grassroots level.

Addressing the low efficiency of millet farming in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei dryland areas, the lecture hall promoted simplified cultivation techniques. Over 3,400 people tuned in, including farmers from Zhangjiakou, who applied the knowledge to their local cultural tourism projects. This not only increased the quality product rate by nearly 30% but also added a unique rural tourism attraction. The program has also embraced the live-streaming e-commerce wave, setting up a public welfare studio where agricultural e-commerce mentors teach brand packaging, live-streaming skills, and social media marketing. Farmers from Miyun and Pinggu have since used these skills to sell peaches and honey directly to consumers nationwide, while short videos have driven traffic to agritourism and research experience projects, proving that quality products can fetch better prices and beautiful landscapes can translate into lucrative income.

The Digital Backbone of Agricultural Management

Behind the customer-facing services is a powerful management system. The "Science and Technology Service Management Platform," launched in January, provides a new digital foundation for the Academy's entire service management. Upon opening the homepage, users are greeted by a 3D map of Beijing, pinpointing 456 service sites across 131 bases in 13 districts. Each point provides detailed information on its services, coverage, and resources, visually demonstrating the tangible results of technology deployment.

The interconnected "network" provides real-time data from the fields. The platform integrates hundreds of IoT devices across 36 sites, collecting 22 key indicators including soil moisture and microclimate from greenhouses, fields, orchards, and livestock farms. This has amassed a database of 23.08 million entries. Experts can now monitor field conditions remotely, and producers have a real-time understanding of their operations. This data also powers an AI-based soil moisture forecasting model, making field water management more predictable. This network proved its worth during the heavy rains in July 2025, allowing experts to complete disaster assessments and deploy technical plans within 24 hours, providing a crucial window for rapid response and recovery.

The "ledger" component brings transparency and accountability to expert services. The platform digitally manages 147 demonstration projects and tracks the activities of 381 experts, clearly showing service areas and expert distribution. "It also functions as an online exhibition hall for Beijing's agricultural science and technology achievements," says Zhang Zhonglili, Deputy Director of the Academy's Research Center for Intelligent Equipment Technology. This level of detail supports evidence-based decision-making at the institutional level, optimizing resource allocation and shifting the strategic focus from intuition to data, thereby enhancing the overall efficiency and reach of the agricultural service system.

Thanks to these two platforms, the barriers between science and the fields are being systematically dismantled, bringing digital dividends to an increasing number of farmers. The agricultural technology service network is being woven ever tighter, promising to extend its reach even further across the countryside, connecting more rural communities to the future of farming.