A digital management platform for countryside governance is displayed at the 2019 Zhejiang Agriculture Expo in Hangzhou from Nov 22 to 26. [Photo/zj.zjol.com]

The 2019 Zhejiang Agriculture Expo was held in Hangzhou from Nov 22 to 26, showcasing some of the latest digital applications in agriculture, such as a digital band which can be tied to a chicken's foot to record relevant information, a mobile application that can identify pests, and a digital map of the countryside which has the potential to increase government efficiency.

The chicken foot band has a QR code which contains information such as the chicken's current owner, age, and location, according to Tang Pingdong, owner of a local chicken farming company.

Tang started developing the band in 2017 using blockchain and internet of things technologies. The band can not only trace the growth of a chicken, including how many steps it has taken, but can also monitor the surrounding environment, including temperature and humidity.

"We tie the band to a chicken when it’s two to three months old and sell it before it's taken a million steps, which means we won't sell it until it is seven to eight months old," said Tang, who established a farming base for chickens in Pengxi town, Taishun county, Wenzhou last February and started selling his first group of chickens in September 2018. More than 100,000 chickens raised wearing the digital band have been sold to date.

"We contracted henhouses out to multiple farmers, offered chickens, bands and farming advice for free, and helped them sell the best chickens," Tang added.