China Grain Reserves Group Ltd. Company (CGRG) developed a smart granary management system based on the Internet of Things (IoT) across the country, proving strong guarantee for food security.

A camera in a granery (News.cn/Li Guodong)

The CGRG built a modern grain depot containing over 6,000 grain sensors and monitors in Huadu district of Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong province, which is one of its IoT-based granaries.

Covering an area of about 12 hectares, the Central Grain Reserves Guangzhou Directly Managed Storehouse, one of China’s central grain reserves, can store more than 100,000 tons of grain, which is sufficient for 1 million people to eat in half a year.

“We have 20 1,500-square-meter warehouses, so it previously took time and effort to walk around them, let alone to check the grain situation,” said Li Xiaodong, general manager of the storehouse, adding that the IoT enables quick and efficient scrutiny only in front of computers.

Li noted that about 300 temperature measurement points and two humidity sensors for the grain piles can send real-time data to the CGRG headquarters and its branches, so that potential problems, if any, can be handled immediately.

High-definition monitors enable the management departments to conduct all-weather remote monitoring of silos without any blind spots, said Tao Linyan from the CGRG Guangzhou branch.

With 4.3 million sensors and 81,158 monitors deployed in over 980 grain depots, the IoT-based granary management can also provide intelligent ventilation solutions by calculating ventilation methods and timing, and by remotely controlling ventilators.

Technology advances in grain storage have significantly reduced the rate of abnormal situations, such as overheating and mildew of grains, Tao added.

The IoT-based solutions have greatly enhanced the CGRG’s grain storage capability and China’s capacity in guaranteeing food security, said Jin Jing, general manager of the CGRG Guangzhou branch.