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.  

 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.

 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.

How To Become A More Data-Driven Business.

How To Become A More Data-Driven Business. More and more businesses are finding that Big Data is a valuable tool to have in their arsenal. 

Big Data involves extracting useful information from within and without the company, and using the data to make data-driven business decisions, which apparently are supposed to be better than normal business decisions because the data can be used to back them up. The key to becoming a data-driven company is to not just gather data and look at it once in a while, but to approach every decision by analyzing relevant data and letting the conclusions drawn from the data speak for themselves and guide your company. 

The idea is that decisions made based on hard data are more reliable than decisions made based on instinct or assumptions, which can be faulty. 

 Data can help you identify trends, make you aware of issues, and help you find innovations or solutions to problems. It can also help employees find ways to improve. But the trick is to make sure that, will all the data you end up gathering, you use the right data to gather your insights and don’t get led astray.

 How does one become a more data-driven business? Have a strategy As with any major action, you want to have a plan in place first. Develop a strategy to help you focus and weed out any data you don’t need. First, understand what your current state is. 

How are you currently making decisions? Do you have what you need to become data-driven? Is data accessible to everyone? Then set some clear goals as to what you want data to do for your business. Consider building your strategy around your business objectives. 

 Inventory Take an inventory of your current data. Find out what data you have and where it is (you very well could have data in multiple places).

 Once you have it, consolidate it into one place so you can easily what you have and can easily access it. Target key areas Identify the key areas where data is coming from that will be key to meeting your strategy. These areas are the ones you will target sets of data from. 

Target data according to your business objectives to gain the most useful insights and also keep the cost of data storage down.

How To Use Data & Analytics To Aggressively & Exponentially Grow Your Business.

How To Use Data & Analytics To Aggressively & Exponentially Grow Your Business.Growing your business is a must if you really want your business to succeed. If you don’t, you’ll remain stagnant and at potential risk of failure. There are many ways you grow your business, such as new ways of getting customers and diversification of products. Another way is the use of data and analytics to aggressively and exponentially grow your business. You’ve already heard of how important they are to keep your business on track, and you probably have already been gathering data and analytics in order to do that. As you sift through all that information, try some of these things so your business can grow, as well. Opportunities While going through all the data and analytics, look for opportunities that will let your business move up a level and make some changes based on the data. For example, try something like identifying times of the year when online sales jump, so you can take advantage of it, or go through sales and inventory data (if a brick-and-mortar store) to see when product demand is highest so you can prepare ahead of time.

7 Ways Data Analytics Can Boost Your Business Growth.

7 Ways Data Analytics Can Boost Your Business Growth.Analytics can be used to optimize every area of your business.Here are seven areas where they have used analytics to transform their performance which boosted revenue, increased profits, and improved customer satisfaction and retention. 1 - Improved Service Level Performance When it comes to delivering flowers, From You Flowers uses a network of florists to fulfill orders, as well as their own distribution centers. Analytics has allowed them to predict their ability to meet customer demands, which are often for same day delivery, by understanding the impact of traffic patterns and average delivery times for each supplier in major cities. This allows them to make and meet commitments, or pass on business where they know that delivery is not possible, or to propose a next day delivery. 2 - Better Order Fulfillment Florist performance can vary based on many factors, such as time of day, the day of the week, or the product being sold, etc. Analyzing supplier performance helps identify which of their many suppliers will give the highest probability of success for any give orders based on location, which increases their order fulfillment.

CBN Agriculture Scheme To Boost Food Security, Employment In Abia.

CBN Agriculture Scheme To Boost Food Security, Employment In Abia. The Abia State Government has formally sworn in a project management team of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Accelerated Agricultural scheme, as part of efforts to boost food production and provide 10,000 jobs for Abia youths. The team has the commissioner of Agriculture as the chairman, with the Programme Director of the Agriculture Development Programme (ADP), Head of Development Finance officer of the CBN, representative of farmers, representative of Bank of Agriculture and State Director of National Directorate of Employment (NDE) as members. At the inauguration of the committee at the Ministry of Agriculture Headquarters Umuahia, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Uzoamaka Ikonne, said it was the governor’s directive and in line with the CBN requirement for the programme. According to her, the state government is ready to implement the scheme in the state and expressed hope that the success of the scheme will help curb youth restiveness. “As a state, we have shown readiness to buy into the CBN programme, because agriculture is one of the main pillars of development of the Governor Ikpeazu administration.

It's Called Vertical Farming, And It Could Be The Future Of Agriculture.

It's Called Vertical Farming, And It Could Be The Future Of Agriculture. The concept sounds like science fiction: instead of spreading out across acres and acres, the farms of the future will grow lettuce and strawberries inside climate-controlled, light-controlled cylinders. 

Less land, less water, but year-round light and perfectly controlled moisture. The plants (fruit, vegetables) grow in 20-foot tall towers inside a climate-controlled facility with LED lights without using pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, or GMOs. 

Instead, thousands of infrared cameras and sensors collect data that is analyzed to optimize how the plants grow. It's Called Vertical Farming, And It Could Be The Future Of Agriculture.

Chasing A Killer: CDC Scientists Pursue Deadly Monkeypox Virus In Africa.

Chasing A Killer: CDC Scientists Pursue Deadly Monkeypox Virus In Africa.A mysterious disease is causing outbreaks that could easily spread across the world. Over the past year, reports of monkeypox have flared alarmingly across Africa MANFOUETE, CONGO REPUBLIC: Along a narrow, winding river, a team of American scientists is traveling deep into the Congo rain forest to a village that can be reached only by boat. The scientists are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they have embarked on this watery journey to solve a decades-old mystery about a rare and fatal disease: monkeypox. A cousin to the deadly smallpox virus, the monkeypox virus initially infects people through contact with wild animals and can then spread from person to person. The disease produces fever and a rash that often turns into painful lesions that can feel like cigarette burns. It kills up to 1 in 10 of its victims, similar to pneumonic plague, and is particularly dangerous in children. Monkeypox is on the U.S. government list of pathogens such as anthrax and Ebola with the greatest potential to threaten human health. There is no cure. Over the past year, reports of monkeypox have flared alarmingly across Africa, one of several animal-borne diseases that have raised anxiety around the globe. The Congolese government invited CDC researchers here to track the disease and train local scientists. Understanding the virus and how it spreads during an outbreak is key to stopping it and protecting people from the deadly disease.