(Yicai Global) Oct. 15 -- A company affiliated with Chinese internet giant JD.Com plans to work with partners to build a farm in China’s central Hubei province that will demonstrate the application of digital technologies in agriculture.

The project aims to complete the digital operation of the entire crop supply chain from field to table, starting with soil, water and fertilizer management, Wuhan-based partner Hubei Forbon Technology said in a statement today without giving any financial or shareholder details.

Forbon inked the deal yesterday with JD affiliate Beijing Jingdong Qianshi Technology, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences’ Institute of Plant Protection and Soil Fertilizer and Wuhan Heda Technology to set up Jingdong Farm Digital Agriculture Wuhan Research Center.

The tie-up will leverage Jingdong Qianshi’s strengths in platform, marketing, digital technology, finance and supply chains, with the other partners’ advantages in planting and agricultural research, the statement added.

The project will apply Big Data technology to the production and management of local specialty crops and use Internet of Things know-how to ensure the quality and safety of farm produce.

Forbon, a fertilizer auxiliaries supplier, has been transforming into a digital agricultural services provider in recent years. In January, the firm said it had partnered on setting up a soil Big Data research institute, with an investment of CNY10 million (USD1.5 million) for a 90 percent stake, to provide comprehensive modern agricultural services to the farming sector.

Shares of Forbon Technology [SHE: 300387] gained 3 percent today to close at CNY10.12 (USD1.50).

Editor: Peter Thomas