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Huawei Cloud is developing applications that use AI for tasks such as crop monitoring. (Image source: Huawei Cloud)

Agriculture

Huawei Cloud, in collaboration with Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), hosted the Huawei Cloud Summit Thailand 2025, where the two parties jointly announced a strategic initiative to position Thailand as ASEAN’s leading AI hub.

While the summit highlighted the nation’s overall digital acceleration, a notable focus was placed on the growing application of AI and cloud technologies in agriculture.

As part of MDES’s “Cloud First” strategy, which aims to build an inclusive and opportunity-rich digital economy, Huawei Cloud is advancing smart agriculture initiatives that leverage artificial intelligence to enhance productivity, sustainability, and environmental stewardship in the farming sector.

Through partnerships with local stakeholders, Huawei Cloud is developing applications that use AI for tasks such as crop monitoring, pest prediction, and precision irrigation, which are essential tools for a country where agriculture plays a critical economic role.

Cloud and AI technologies not only boost production efficiency but also bring a positive impact on human life, natural environment, and sustainable development, explained Aka Dai, director of Huawei Cloud Marketing, during the summit. He pointed to ongoing efforts in smart agriculture as a core example of Huawei’s “Cloud for Good” initiative.

Huawei Cloud is strengthening its local collaborations in this field as part of a broader push that includes nature conservation, inclusive finance, and carbon reduction. The company’s initiatives already include paperless solutions for government departments, saving thousands of trees annually, and now extend to optimising agricultural operations to reduce water usage, cut emissions, and increase yields.

William Dong, president of Huawei Cloud Marketing, introduced several innovations to support this AI-driven transformation. These included the Pangu models, which are tailored for specific use cases, from steel manufacturing to weather forecasting, and are now being adapted to meet agricultural needs.

AI has become the most influential general-purpose technology in the industry, according to Dong, who noted Huawei Cloud’s shift from “Cloud-Native” to “AI-Native” infrastructure.

The summit also featured a demonstration of AI in action, where a humanoid robot and a human with a bionic hand performed collaborative tasks, showcasing the real-world potential of intelligent technology.

Having worked with over 1,000 customers and 500 partners in Thailand over the past seven years, Huawei Cloud is now focused on accelerating intelligent transformation in key industries. With smart agriculture as one of its emerging pillars, the company aims to support the sustainable growth of Thailand’s digital and environmental ambitions.

Horizontal nozzle-pressurised spinning could be a huge boost to the global dairy farming industry. (Image source: UCL)

Cattle

Researchers have developed a new technique to extract tiny cellulose strands from cow dung and turn them into manufacturing-grade cellulose

A study published in The Journal of Cleaner Production, describes the potential of a new ‘pressurised spinning’ innovation that uses cow dung as a raw material to create cellulose materials more cheaply and cleanly than some current manufacturing methods. Cellulose is one of the world’s most commonly used manufacturing materials, and can be found in everything from cling film to surgical masks, paper products, textiles, foods and pharmaceuticals.  

Professor Edirisinghe, the senior author of the study, considered the possibility of extracting tiny fragments of cellulose present in cow manure and turning it into manufacturing-grade cellulose materials. He first used mild chemical reactions and homogenisation, which was successful in fragment extraction. However, the use of pressurised spinning technology to turn these fragments into fibres failed. 

However, upon trial and error, a new technique called horizontal nozzle-pressurised spinning, proved successful. This is an energy efficient process that doesn’t require the high voltages of other fibre production techniques such as electrospinning. This advancement is a prime example of circular economy and is the first time that manufacturing-grade cellulose has been derived from animal waste

Horizontal nozzle-pressurised spinning could be a huge boost to the global dairy farming industry, given the fact that animal waste management continues to be a growing problem globally. The research team is currently seeking opportunities to work with dairy farmers to take advantage of the technology and scale it up.

Monarch MK-V tractor demonstrating V2G through Borg Warner DCFC and Gridtractor CMS. (Image source: Gridtractor)

Equipment

Gridtractor, Monarch Tractor, and Borg Warner have achieved a significant milestone by successfully demonstrating Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) capabilities utilising a Monarch MK-V tractor, a Borg Warner 60 kW DC fast charger, and Gridtractor’s cloud-based charge management system employing the Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) 

Entomatic is highly versatile and can be used in horizontal and vertical row crops. (Image source: Biobest)

Machinery & Equipment

The Entomatic automated dispenser stands as a game changer for spider mite control, ensuring precise and uniform Phytoseiulus distribution across crops

Phytoseiulus persimilis, a specialised predatory mite, feeds exclusively on spider mites and is an essential and well-established component of biocontrol programmes. Entomatic is highly versatile and can be used in horizontal and vertical row crops. It has been widely adopted in high-tech protected vegetable crops, such as tomatoes, sweet peppers and cucumbers, as well as cut flowers and open-field strawberry production.

Beyond Phytoseiulus-System, Entomatic efficiently distributes other predatory mites, most beneficial insects, and Artemac supplementary predator feed in tomatoes. Its user-friendly, modular design allows for easy configuration across different glasshouse setups, whether mounted on existing carts, tractors, robotic sprayers, or custom driving platforms.

Sam Gui, market development manager for High Tech IPM at Biobest explained how Entomatic maximises effectiveness by smoothly and precisely releasing Phytoseiulus-System, at a controlled rate, over the head of the plants. “Aside from the increased precision, due to automatisation, Entomatic can significantly cut labour costs. Depending on the Entomatic model, we’ve seen labour costs for beneficial mite introduction cut by up to 90%.”

 

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