Thailand Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha inspected the progress of the “Digital Agriculture” pilot project. The project uses 5G platform technology on Government Central Cloud System (GDCC ) at Pha Mi Training Centre in Chiang Rai Province.
The Pha Mi Training Centre is a learning, research and development facility for high-value crops such as vanilla and orchid, among the world’s top five most valuable products. The centre will also improve farmers’ knowledge of the area and create long-term career opportunities. Finally, the programme aims to increase farm income and reduce poverty among farmers.
The development of the Cloud GDCC system supports the integration of IoT Smart farm technology and the storage of Big Data in Thailand’s agricultural sector. The cloud system is prepared to support future expansion to Thai farmers and other experimental plants.
Prime Minister General Prayut was confident that the initiative would generate long-term income for farmers while uplifting communities. In addition, the project aims to improve the development of integrated agriculture, thereby ensuring the sustainability of farmers and communities in other fields such as cocoa, hemp, superfood plants, and so on.
Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha monitored the progress of intelligent farm systems, smart greenhouses and high-value crop projects such as vegetable and vanilla plots with Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and the concerned partners.
The Ministry of DES has been designated as the primary agency in charge of the Digital Agriculture project. Minister Chaiwut revealed that the ministry had agreed to implement a pilot project in Thailand to promote digital agriculture using 5G technology which was in line with the Prime Minister’s National 5G Steering Committee. The pilot project employs 5G technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to control automatic cultivation.
Digital agriculture development aims to increase efficiency in the cultivation process by bringing innovation and technology to agriculture. The 5G-enabled digital agriculture pilot project work with vanilla farmers on the hillside and border area as a test where plants are grown in EVAP (Evaporative Cooling System) greenhouses.
Watering systems were developed and managed using 5G technology by installing IoT controllers and sensors in vanilla plots and EVAP greenhouses. At the same time, smart farm software aids in the distribution of 5G signals, recording and storing data generated by the Internet of Things (IoT).
The government employs IoT and mobile phones rather than human labour and traditional weather forecasting to regulate temperature, humidity, irrigation, fertilisation and harvesting. Technology is also being used to produce the appropriate number of products to meet the needs of consumers and the market.
Furthermore, the Thai government has pushed for digitalisation in the farming industry to boost the productivity of the Doi Tung project. The effort is to propel Thailand’s goal of utilising digital technology in all sectors.
Similar smart projects are being explored across the world. CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, recently revealed the details of a project to develop a national soil information system, to improve the long-term management of one of the country’s most valuable assets. The Australian National Soil Information System (ANSIS) project is a collaboration between the government, research organisations, industry, the private sector and the community.
ANSIS will improve the sharing of nationally consistent soil data and information through online access for users by utilising innovative processes and technologies. The initiative will assist Australians in better understanding their country’s diverse range of soils and making better decisions about managing their vital soil resources.
According to the Project Lead at CSIRO, improving access to the best soil data and information can help promote digital agriculture innovation and is critical to managing Australia’s soils sustainably. Farmers and agricultural advisors will have more soil data and be in a better position to work the ground on which they rely if they use ANSIS.