Could Taiwan become the Silicon Valley of Agriculture 4.0?
Could Taiwan become the Silicon Valley of Agriculture 4.0?
Taiwan has in the past been synonymous with toy manufacturing and electrical components, but a growing revolution in agriculture is set to give the sweet-potato-shaped island a new area of influence in the global economy.
With a Mandarin speaking populace and geographical location that is less than two hours from Shanghai, Taiwan is also the perfect base for companies looking to profit in the lucrative Chinese market.
There is now an active push to promote Taiwan as a hub for Agriculture 4.0. There are few places in the world that are better suited for developing smart farming devices and large-scale precision agriculture projects than Taiwan.
What is Agriculture 4.0?
Precision farming, or Agriculture 4.0, refers to systems that employ drones, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), vertical farms, artificial intelligence (AI), and solar energy.
Through the integration of digital technology into farming practices, companies are able to increase yields, reduce costs, experience less crop damage and minimize water, fuel and fertilizer usage. For the consumer this equals cheaper and better quality food.
So, imagine a farm not unlike what exists across the world today, but with increased automation and smart technologies that are able to detect the needs of crops and deliver those necessities automatically.
Why Taiwan?
Nearly all of the skills and components needed for Agriculture 4.0 can be found in Taiwan, a place that although small in size, boasts the largest number of electrical engineers per capita in the world. Taiwan produces 25% of the world’s semiconductors, and is a manufacturer for most of the sensors used in IoT and smart farming projects.
It is also a major player in robotics, drones and the global leader in solar cells. The growth in indoor farming as a more productive alternative to traditional farms, is proving to be a boon for the LED industry in Taiwan, the second largest in the world. A number of indoor farming companies have branched out of the LED sector and can offer full intelligent indoor farming and hydroponic solution.
Check out the infographic from HWTrek to find out why you should be betting the farm on Taiwanese agtech in 2017.
The post Could Taiwan become the Silicon Valley of Agriculture 4.0? appeared first on ReadWrite.
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