Overview

Hou Chau-Pai, the chairman of BaiSian Agricultural Products Co.,Ltd, has made history as the first Taiwanese farmer to grace the pages of Forbes magazine. His claim to fame? Exceptional edamame production. Forbes commended him for his scientific cultivation methods and the consistent production of premium-quality edamame beans.

Hou Chau-Pai and BaiSian Agricultural Products Company were featured in Forbes magazine in 2014, becoming the first Taiwanese farmer to be featured in Forbes magazine.

What sets Hou Chau-Pai's edamame apart is the unwavering commitment to quality. This dedication has allowed him to achieve an annual output value of more than 6,000,000 U.S. dollars. The driving force behind this remarkable success is the cultivation of the "Kaohsiung No. 9" edamame variety. With its plump beans and exquisite taste, it has captured the hearts of Japanese consumers, firmly establishing itself as the champion in the Japanese market.

But Hou Chau-Pai's reach extends far beyond Japan's shores. His premium edamame has found its way to four continents, including Europe, Asia, America, and Australia, totalling 12 countries. As a pioneer in the edamame market, BaiSian chose to cooperate with DataYoo and used one of its products called FarmiSpace. Through the utilization of FarmiSpace and its complementary project, BaiSian has successfully boosted their yield by 10% to date.

4 Challenges Encountered in Scaling Up

As a substantial corporation, BaiSian faces the formidable task of overseeing an extensive land expanse spanning 700 ha. This endeavor presents 3 noteworthy challenges, particularly given the scattered distribution of BaiSian's farms across Taiwan.

Challenge 1 - Uneven Water Distribution Caused by Flood Irrigation

BaiSian employs flood irrigation to water its expansive fields, finding it a relatively efficient irrigation method. However, this approach results in an oversupply of water near the water source and insufficient water distribution in areas distant from it. Furthermore, even when uneven irrigation is acknowledged, visually identifying the specific areas with insufficient water remains a challenging task. Hence, BaiSian continues to grapple with the issue of uneven water distribution.

BaiSian employs flood irrigation for watering its edamame fields.

Solution

BaiSian leverages FarmiSpace's crop moisture index to optimize water supply practices efficiently. Beyond its role in addressing uneven water distribution, the crop moisture index enables farmers to assess factors like elevated terrain and poor drainage in specific fields. This information aids in the planning and execution of subsequent field irrigation management tasks.

Challenge 2 - Managing Dispersed 700-Hectare Fields Presents Significant Hurdles, Particularly in Promptly Resolving Field-Related Concerns.

Fields owned by BaiSian in Central and South Taiwan.

BaiSian's edamame fields are segmented into two categories: self-operated and contracted, spanning across four counties. These fields stretch across a distance of 126.15 kilometers, encompassing five cities from the northernmost to the southernmost points. The remote management of these fields poses a significant challenge for BaiSian, particularly during the summer months when heavy rainfall, high temperatures, fertilization, and the risk of pests and diseases are prevalent in this subtropical island. This is when the ability to promptly identify areas with issues becomes paramount.

Solution

Use FarmiSpace's visualized interface and crop health index to easily identify fields with abnormal conditions.

With the implementation of FarmiSpace, BaiSian has successfully mitigated the challenges associated with large-scale farm management. FarmiSpace seamlessly integrates BaiSian's vast 700 ha field network onto a single platform. In addition, long-term and efficient real-time tracking of each field allows BaiSian to find abnormal areas in time and send people to solve the problem. Immediate actions, including dispatching teams to address issues on-site, can be executed, enhancing both the efficiency and timeliness of farm operations.

Challenge 3 - Edamame Harvesting: A Precious 5-Day Window and a 4 Hours of Process

The edamame harvesting window is exceedingly brief, demanding constant vigilance to capture the optimal harvest time. This window spans a mere five days, beyond which the beans undergo undesirable changes, resulting in a bitter taste and a fibrous texture that renders them unsuitable for consumption. Compounding the challenge, BaiSian maintains stringent quality standards necessitating that edamame beans be processed within four hours of harvesting, a critical timeframe referred to by BaiSian as the 'golden four hours.'

How to harvest and process edamame in 4 hours is a difficult task

BaiSian operates under the pressure of an exceptionally tight schedule, driven by an exceedingly brief 5-day harvest and processing period. On one hand, it must precisely determine the start and end of this narrow timeframe, and on the other, swiftly mobilize its workforce for harvesting and processing to ensure everything is accomplished within the allotted time. This colossal workload and the compressed timeline present one of BaiSian's foremost challenges.

Solution

After adopting FarmiSpace, the crop growth index emerges as an invaluable asset for optimizing the harvesting process. The platform allows the display of harvest-ready fields on mobile devices or computers. For edamame, the harvesting sequence follows a gradient from dark to light. As illustrated in the image below, harvest order 1 corresponds to the darkest areas, whereas harvest order 3 encompasses relatively lighter areas.

Crop harvest sequence can be interpreted from crop growth index.

Continuous field monitoring streamlines the management of harvesting, simplifying post-harvest transportation and workforce scheduling. BaiSian can faithfully adhere to its 'Golden Four Hours' principle, alleviating concerns related to both quality and yield. With FarmiSpace, BaiSian attains an all-encompassing solution for their agricultural needs.

Challenge4 - Proactively Enhancing Yield and Reducing Recovery Losses

BaiSian is dedicated to enhancing both quality and minimizing harvesting losses, with a heightened focus on meticulous attention to detail, especially as the scale of operations expands, in the pursuit of creating greater value.

Expansive fields demand a keen focus on quality.

Solution

Chairman Hou Chau-Pai, along with the DataYoo team, conducted an on-site visit to the edamame fields.

Plan the harvest sequence by combining the crop index with the vehicle-mounted system.

Identifying issues to address within FarmiSpace, such as variations in crop moisture distribution and abrupt shifts in crop health indices, BaiSian partnered with DataYoo to investigate these concerns. Employing various DataYoo products and initiatives, BaiSian conducted targeted research and implemented tailored agricultural solutions based on specific scenarios. Moreover, DataYoo employs an agricultural machinery monitoring system in conjunction with crop algorithms to accurately ascertain the optimal harvesting field areas and vehicle routes. This precision enables the harvest of edamame when it reaches a uniform height, minimizing the risk of damaging beans during the harvest process.

Outcome

Since forging a data partnership between BaiSian and DataYoo in 2019, BaiSian has witnessed a noteworthy average growth of 10% in edamame yield, an 11.04% boost in quality rate, and a substantial reduction in harvest losses by 15%.

Indeed, despite these remarkable achievements, BaiSian contends with formidable competition from global agricultural giants such as China and Thailand. To uphold their competitive edge, BaiSian has strategically invested in technology. This is precisely where FarmiSpace excels, providing comprehensive back-end data analysis for well-informed decision-making and practical implementation. It's this very reason that BaiSian has chosen to partner with DataYoo.