# Research of Development of Agricultural Knowledge Service in China

Junfeng Zhang, Cuiping Tan, Huaiguo Zheng, Sufen Sun, Feng Yu

► To cite this version:

Junfeng Zhang, Cuiping Tan, Huaiguo Zheng, Sufen Sun, Feng Yu. Research of Development of Agricultural Knowledge Service in China. Third IFIP TC 12 International Conference on Computer and Computing Technologies in Agriculture III (CCTA), Oct 2009, Beijing, China. pp.333-337, 10.1007/978-3-642-12220-0_48. hal-01055431

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
RESEARCH OF DEVELOPMENT OF
AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE SERVICE IN
CHINA

Junfeng Zhang, Cuiping Tan *, Huaiguo Zheng, Sufen Sun, Feng Yu

Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology Information, Beijing Academy of
Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China

* Corresponding author, Address: Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology Information, Beijing Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China, Tel: +86-01-51503318, Fax: +86-01-51503318, Email: tcpspring@163.com

**Abstract:** With the global development of knowledge economy, the knowledge requirement of farmers is more personalized and solution-oriented, so there is pressing needs to develop agricultural knowledge service. The paper analyzes characteristics of agricultural knowledge service, and summarizes typical cases of agricultural knowledge service development in China.

**Key words:** agricultural knowledge service, solution-oriented, personalized service

# 1. INTRODUCTION

As Rural Informatization is more emphasized, a series of focus special projects are launched, such as the three electrics gather one, the integration of three networks, the rural remote education and so on, which have achieved very good results. But there are still some problems that the lacking of overall-planning and coordination-management, duplicate construction have resulted in wastage of funds; and urgently needed information for farmers is still inadequate. Agricultural experts' experience in the tacit knowledge does not be fully developed and utilized; and farmers' diverse information needs have not been deeply met.
What exactly was the need for farmers’ information service? Farmers not only need the original information for retrieval, but also need comprehensive information, dynamic information, analysis and forecast information. They prefer one-to-one consulting service to general information service. In brief, they need the realistic solution throughout the whole agricultural production process, which is just the aim of agricultural knowledge service.

## 2. ORIGIN OF AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE SERVICE

The concept of agricultural knowledge service is rarely found in all kinds of literature. According to the paper of Design and Realization of Agricultural knowledge Service System Based on Internet, the agricultural knowledge service is a course of shifting visible knowledge which store in computer and invisible knowledge which store in agriculture expert's brain to farmer. (Zhou Guomin et al., 2005). Another paper of Comparison of Agriculture Information Service and Agricultural Knowledge Service added that agricultural knowledge service is special service industry built on knowledge and service functionality of institutions and libraries on agricultural science and technology intelligence research. For the goals of resolving the users' problems, according to users' special needs, high value-added service of intelligence is provided for users based on agricultural or other field knowledge. (Yanxia et al., 2008) The authors think that agricultural knowledge service is high value-added service of intelligence support and intelligence services just for agriculture, to meet special needs of rural and farmers, whose final goal is to resolve their realistic problem, and to promote knowledge of integration, innovation and shared.

## 3. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE SERVICE

### 3.1 User-centered and aiming at users’ satisfaction

Knowledge service of agricultural science and technology institutions is totally user-centered to cater for the user's knowledge. According to the users' actually requirement, they select and gather a variety of information resource, and provide new knowledge production after refining, processing and reorganization, just for ease of comprehension and absorption. It is
emphasized that directly putting their own unique knowledge and capability
into the agricultural production process, to help them resolve their own
insurmountable problems, and provide users with the value of knowledge
and creativity.

## 3.2 Solution-oriented and throughout the whole process of user information activities

Agricultural knowledge service is committed to users' requirements, helping users finding or forming a solution. It is affected by several factors that the process of user information requirement generation and utilizing information to solve problem. With the change of external factors and user problem-solving progresses, the user information needs or behavior will change. Staying outside the user's information activities, if you do not see those changes, you cannot really solve the user's problem. Therefore, agricultural knowledge service require that they provide forwardly knowledge match users' constantly-changing needs. (Du Yeli el al. 2005)

Agricultural knowledge service must provide knowledge forwardly that matches users' changing requirements, and help them forming solutions, in the whole process of participation, comprehension, analysis of the users' information activities.

## 3.3 Facing knowledge innovation

The most difference between agricultural knowledge services and traditional information services is that it provides value-added knowledge rather than simply transferring information. The process of value-added knowledge is innovation. They select all kinds of information resource, collating, filtering, and reorganizing in use of a variety of information technology, and eventually form new knowledge production for users. (Du Yeli el al. 2005)

## 3.4 Personalized service

Agricultural knowledge service is always standing in the user's perspective, and measuring the knowledge and information to fit users, help users solve actual problems. Each user's scheme is targeted and specific. Exactly according to the user's information requirement characteristics and behavioral habits, agricultural knowledge service is realized by adopting the diversified and personalized service.
## 3.5 Comprehensive integration, collaboration and sharing

Agricultural knowledge service is to integrate organically a variety of resources (including specialist resources, information resources and technical resources), play the overall advantages of the service sector in manpower and intelligence, information and technical resources. Based on open-service mode, through system integration, service integration, and team work, they joint, coordinate and utilize a variety of knowledge resources to provide knowledge-based services. (Du Yeli el al. 2005)

# 4. TYPICAL CASE ANALYSIS OF AGRICULTURAL KNOWLEDGE SERVICE

## 4.1 Agricultural experts and decision systems

The representative of the earlier agricultural knowledge service is agriculture expert systems. The Agriculture Expert Systems are designed to emulate the logic and reasoning processes that an Expert would use to solve a problem. The expert systems in agriculture are based on the integration of knowledge and experience of specialists from different fields, such as Agronomy, Breeding, Soil science, etc. These systems have the capability to answer relevant questions and explain its reasoning process and will be able to interact with farmers and end users in a way that can be understood by them. Expert System can be developed in any specific domain for some specific purpose. Supported by National 863 plans and the national important science and technology project During The 7th Five-Year and The 8th Five-Year etc, the expert systems about corp varieties, agricultural production management, and disease pest control are developed in China.

## 4.2 Pluralistic agricultural advisory services

### 4.2.1 Agricultural science and technology information service 110

Agricultural science and technology information service model of 110 is a typical innovation model of rural technology services in the practice of the
Starfire Enriching Farmers. On the mission of science and technology services for farmers, to information resources as the core, to service hotline as a link, based on data networks, it is devoted to promote information low-cost and efficient communication in the wider rural, and realizes the zero distance between science-technology and farmers.( Zhangbo el al, 2007) The premier of China Wen Jiabao thinks high of the model as a creation of serving for farmer. The service model is mainly on information dissemination, but experts can directly solve the problems with telephone online, so it is one basic form of agricultural knowledge service.

4.2.2 Agricultural experts two-way video Advisory diagnostic service

Because the cultural level of farmers is generally ragged and not high, it is
urgently needed that the methods of online farmer-expert interaction and
consultation. It is possible with computer communication and streaming
media technology. Since 2006, Institute of Agricultural Science and
Technology Information of BAAFS carries out expert and farmer one-to-one
video Advisory diagnostic services, implements real-time remote technology
consultation, pests and diseases remote diagnosis etc. Farmers can transmit
easily the sample pictures of field pests and diseases to experts by face to
face through the video system, and experts will diagnosis and provide
practical solutions according to the actual disease. Agricultural experts two-
way video Advisory diagnostic service is orient-solution knowledge service,
involved in agricultural production and management decision. It has
received more recognition and welcome of farmers since it began.

4.2.3 Agricultural engineering consulting

Agricultural engineering consulting business is intelligence service industries, following independent, scientific and impartial principles, which provide advisory services of decision and implementation about agricultural economic construction and engineering for government departments and investors, to enhance the macro and micro economic benefits. Foundation and development of Agricultural engineering consulting is accompanied by rapid development of our agricultural investment management reform. In 1992, Ministry of Agriculture has established the Ministry of Agriculture Engineering and Construction Services Center and the Chinese Association of Engineering Consultants, as a sign of a formal engineering consulting
industry in China. until 2006, our agriculture engineering consulting
organization has reached 50, the number of jobholders is up to 3000, and the
overall strength and technical level is more improving. Agricultural
engineering consulting fully utilizes the advanced agricultural technologies,
insisting on the independently advisory services, and provide decision-
making evidence for government and enterprises, thereby improving the
investment results. In integration of expert teams force, orienting knowledge
innovation service, agricultural engineering consulting is designed to add
knowledge value, and realize effectiveness and industrialization of
knowledge service business. It is relatively successful agricultural
knowledge service mode.

4.2.4 Agricultural knowledge integration and sharing

(1) Chinese Agricultural science data sharing centre

Agricultural Information Research Institute of Chinese agricultural science Academy is in charge of national agricultural science data sharing centre. Based on agriculture sector, to meet state and society requirements on agricultural scientific data sharing service, taking the data source sectors as the mainstay, surrounding data sharing center, the national and international agricultural scientific data resource can be put together through integration, importing and exchange. The data should be standardized and classified, and eventually rapid sharing service network system will be constructed. With database construction, system application and providing service, they gradually expand the scope of building and sharing in China. At present, 13 categories of the huge database groups have been built.

(2) Provincial and municipal agricultural science and technology
knowledge-sharing center

Since 2003, the provinces gradually established many regional centers of
agricultural science and technology knowledge sharing, especially Beijing,
Guangdong, Anhui. Beijing agriculture digital information resource center,
for example, based on the services for urban style of modern agriculture in
Beijing, under integration of agricultural experts' experience and
knowledge, with a combination of centralized and distributed building
patterns, realizes joint construction and sharing with agriculture-related
institutions in Beijing, to meet the needs of local agricultural science and
technology. Until now, More than 200 databases, millions of agricultural
data has been completed, forming a dynamic agriculture knowledge
warehouse. it becomes a comprehensive agricultural Center for digital
information resource sharing in Beijing. In cooperation with county
government, the communication channels of agricultural knowledge is
widened. As a result, it has been the main source of the agricultural
knowledge in Beijing.

5. CONCLUSION

Agricultural knowledge service is still in the initial stage in China. There
are some meaningful attempts in the fields of the expert consultation,
knowledge integration and expert systems. With agricultural knowledge
economy growing, Only joint agricultural information research industries
can complete the process of knowledge organization, communication,
application and innovation. Meanwhile agricultural knowledge service is
core competence power of information research industries. It is the all-
dimensional and targeted solution that is deeply needed for farmer in fact,
which require our long-term efforts for the topics.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Funding for this research was provided by Project of Upgrade Agricultural
information services to Agricultural knowledge services Research and
Project of Personalized Knowledge Service Platform Development and
Application Based on Network of Beijing Municipal Science and
Technology Commission (P. R. China).

REFERENCES

Zhou Guomin et al, Design and Realization of Agricultural knowledge Service System Based on Internet, Journal of Library and Information Sciences In Agriculture, 2005, (2): 238-240

Yanxia el al. Comparison of agriculture information service and agricultural knowledge service, Guangdong Agricultural Sciences,2008(11):135~138

Du Yeli, el al, Knowledge service pattern innovation, Beijing Library Press,2005

Zhangbo el al, Agricultural Information Service Models Innovation in the Construction of Socialist New Village, Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin,2007(4): 430~434