Pinduoduo Inc., China’s largest agriculture platform, deepened its
agricultural digital inclusion efforts in 2021, spreading the
benefits of the digital economy by connecting communities and
facilitating the adoption of technology.
The company posted its fourth-quarter financial results on March
21, 2022. As of the end of 2021, Pinduoduo has connected over 16
million farmers to its 868.7 million buyers nationwide. A total of
61 billion orders were placed on the platform in 2021, representing
a 59% increase from a year ago, driven by surging agricultural
orders.
In 2021, Pinduoduo stepped up its efforts to support
agricultural modernization through initiatives to help farmers
expand market access, motivate more young people to take up
agriculture, and advance the use of technology in agriculture.
“We believe technology is a force for good in agriculture,” said
Chen Lei, Chairman and CEO of Pinduoduo. “We hope to do our part in
sowing the seeds of innovation by increasing market opportunities,
encouraging youth participation in agriculture and advocating the
adoption of agricultural technology.”
Bringing farmers online
Agricultural e-commerce has broadened the channels through which
farmers can sell their produce, giving them access to a much bigger
pool of buyers. This ability to connect directly to consumers also
means higher earnings for farmers.
Throughout last year, Pinduoduo initiated agriculture-focused
shopping festivals with different regions to promote thousands of
local specialties. Pinduoduo also worked with key partners such as
China Central Television to launch livestreaming events,
introducing agricultural treasures in different areas to nationwide
audiences.
These events help to raise the profile of agricultural regions
and channel more resources to local communities to upgrade their
agricultural production and invest in brand-building.
To support the efforts in upgrading agriculture, Pinduoduo has
waived its sales commission and provided more exposure to
agricultural products. The Company also pledged to continue its
“zero commission policy” on agricultural products.
Promoting smart agriculture
Further upstream, Pinduoduo invests in agricultural technology
to help growers improve their productivity.
The Company organizes an annual Smart Agriculture Competition to
encourage young agricultural researchers and technologists from
around the world to develop cost-effective technology suitable for
smallholder farmers. The co-organizers include China Agricultural
University and Zhejiang University, with the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization and Wageningen University & Research
providing technical guidance and support.
Technologies developed during the first Smart Agriculture
Competition is currently in use in several major strawberry-growing
regions in China, including Liaoning, Anhui, and Yunnan, to manage
growing conditions in greenhouses. Traditional growers can more
than double their management capacity using the technologies, which
determine the optimal climate conditions for strawberries and
automate processes like irrigation.
Early indications from the current Smart Agriculture
Competition, which began last summer, also show much higher yields
for tomatoes than traditional growing methods, demonstrating the
potential economic and environmental benefits of technology in
agriculture.
Encouraging tech-savvy “New Farmers”
Younger talent is required to improve the way food is sold and
distributed post-harvest.
Pinduoduo offers dedicated courses to equip interested youths
with the necessary knowhow to set up their own e-commerce
businesses, so that they can help their local communities to plug
into the digital economy.
As of the end of October 2021, more than 126,000 young farming
professionals born after 1995 have joined the Pinduoduo platform,
up from 85,700 in 2020 and 29,700 in 2019.
These “New Farmers” have a key role to play in agricultural
modernization and rural vitalization. Pinduoduo will devote more
resources to expand its agricultural training programs and support
more young agricultural entrepreneurs.
Addressing critical needs with technology
To deepen its commitment to agricultural and rural vitalization,
Pinduoduo announced in August a dedicated 10 Billion Agriculture
Initiative overseen by Chen to address critical needs in the
agricultural sector and rural areas.
“Our strategy in agriculture is centered on technology and we
believe that there is still a lot of room for technology adoption
in agriculture,” Chen said. “As an agriculture platform, Pinduoduo
will invest patiently and do our part to contribute to agricultural
modernization.”
In 2021, the Company made a strategic shift toward research and
development and put more emphasis on agricultural technology. “We
see ourselves making more long-term investment, especially in
agriculture and R&D,” Chen added.
About Pinduoduo
Inc.Pinduoduo connects millions of agricultural
producers with consumers
across China. Pinduoduo aims to bring more
businesses and people into the digital economy so that local
communities can benefit from the increased productivity and
convenience through new market opportunities. For more information
on Pinduoduo and industry trends, please visit the
content hub at https://stories.pinduoduo-global.com.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Pinduoduo Inc
internationalmedia@pinduoduo.com
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