From Fields to the UN: Pinduoduo Turns Agricultural Innovation into a Global...

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TMTPOST -- Agriculture may be the world’s oldest industry, but it is increasingly being reshaped by artificial intelligence, algorithms, and sensors. What once seemed an unlikely pairing—cutting-edge technology and sprawling farmland—is now emerging as a critical solution to global food challenges.

That message was front and center at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, where ministers, researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors from around the world convened for the annual World Food Forum, the FAO’s highest-level gathering on agriculture and food systems.

For the second year in a row, Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo took the stage as a participant and thought leader in agricultural innovation. Wang Haiwei, the company’s Vice President of Corporate Development, delivered a keynote address and served as a judge in the Agri-Food Innovation Competition.

The strong presence of a digital commerce company at a UN agricultural forum reflects a broader shift: technology platforms are increasingly helping modernize farming and improve food security. And China’s experience in digital agriculture—once rooted in “e-commerce for the fields”—is now gaining international attention.

Global agriculture is under strain from climate change, labor shortages, land degradation, and supply chain fragility. According to data shared at the forum, 673 million people worldwide still face hunger, accounting for 8.2% of the global population. Some 2.3 billion remain food insecure, while 2.6 billion cannot afford a healthy diet.

Technology, delegates stressed, will be key to building a sustainable food system. The question is who can successfully bring innovation to the ground—and into the hands of farmers.

Pinduoduo has been held up as one such example. In 2022, it became the only company worldwide to win the FAO’s Annual Innovation Award for its efforts in agricultural digitalization. Two years later, it is once again representing China on the FAO’s global stage, showcasing how technology can enhance productivity and promote inclusive rural development.

At this year’s Science and Innovation Forum, Wang highlighted Pinduoduo’s work in supporting agricultural research, improving distribution efficiency, and helping farmers adopt digital tools to raise incomes and reduce waste.

As technology and traditional farming continue to converge, the role of platforms like Pinduoduo—and the rise of “Chinese-style agricultural innovation”—is becoming a focal point for global stakeholders seeking new pathways to food resilience.

Wang Haiwei, Vice President of Corporate Development at Pinduoduo, delivers keynote speech at the Science and Innovation Forum

“Pinduoduo has deep roots in agriculture. Through multi-billion-yuan initiatives, we aim to cultivate a new generation of ‘new farmers’ equipped with both technical expertise and practical skills, anchored in a strong digital vision. Our goal is to inject vitality and innovation into the global agri-food system,” Wang Haiwei, Vice President of Corporate Development, said at the FAO’s Science and Innovation Forum.

Pinduoduo’s collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is long-standing. In 2022, the company received the FAO’s annual Innovation Award, becoming the only corporate recipient worldwide that year.

Since 2020, Pinduoduo has supported the Global AgriInno Challenge—co-hosted by the FAO and Zhejiang University—for five consecutive years. The initiative has become a major global stage for youth agricultural innovation, providing a resource-rich platform for startups and agri-tech entrepreneurs.

Wang highlighted that international organizations, multinational corporations, and research institutions are working together to create mechanisms that enable agri-innovators to transcend borders, access global resources, and drive local agricultural development with region-specific solutions.

A case in point is this year’s Silver Award winner, China’s “Muyuan Cloud Computing” team. Confronting the challenges posed by African swine fever, the team employs AI vision technology and multisensor fusion to monitor pigs’ subtle behaviors—including feeding, movement, and social interactions—around the clock. The system can detect abnormalities such as fever, lethargy, fighting, and lameness within seconds, triggering early alerts for intervention. The project provides a comprehensive, intelligent solution for precision management in large-scale pig farming, demonstrating how technology can mitigate risks and improve efficiency in modern agriculture.

The Muyuan Cloud Computing team shares how they utilize AI for around-the-clock pig monitoring

The Global Agri-Inno Startup Competition is more than a showcase for agricultural technology—it emphasizes the practical deployment and real-world impact of innovations.

A standout example this year is China’s “Muyuan Cloud Computing” team. Leveraging the extensive pig farming ecosystem of its parent company, Muyuan Group, the team has collected and processed over 200,000 data points since its inception in December 2022. This allows laboratory breakthroughs to be rapidly implemented on the farm. Early results suggest impressive efficiency gains, with each 1 RMB invested in R&D yielding a return of 7 RMB.

Pinduoduo’s repeated presence at United Nations forums reflects its role beyond a simple e-commerce platform. From bridging the “last mile” of getting agricultural products to market to pioneering the “first mile” of scientific innovation, the company has built systemic capabilities linking technology, markets, and people. The FAO has described this model as a “research-worthy inclusive digital agriculture approach,” highlighting the global relevance of Chinese agricultural innovation.

Pinduoduo’s approach can be summarized as a “three-step process”: competition discovery, platform empowerment, and market integration—a closed loop taking innovations from the laboratory to the field. Since 2020, the Global Agri-Inno Challenge has attracted more than 1,000 teams from across the world. In 2025, the competition set new records, drawing 519 digital agriculture solutions from 97 countries.

Participants employ advanced technologies—including AI, sensors, robotics, and blockchain—to tackle age-old agricultural challenges: pest and disease control, livestock efficiency, climate risk management, and optimized planting decisions. In this year’s finals, Muyuan Cloud Computing used AI vision and multisensor fusion to monitor pig behaviors, issuing early alerts for fever or lameness. Meanwhile, the U.S. team Verdia Diagnostics employed nanosensors to track crop gas emissions, providing disease warnings up to 72 hours in advance.

In August this year, the 2025 Global Agritech Competition Final Roadshow concluded in Hangzhou

“Through the competition, young scientists gain access to resources, investment, and international opportunities. Our goal is to empower them not only to conduct research in labs but also to step directly into the fields,” Pinduoduo Vice President Wang Haiwei said in a recent media interview.

This vision underpins Pinduoduo’s evolving agricultural ecosystem, where research, entrepreneurship, and commerce operate in a mutually reinforcing cycle. Competitions provide funding and real-world testing grounds for scientists; the platform offers technical support and sales channels for emerging agri-entrepreneurs; and consumers, by purchasing agricultural products, help fuel further innovation.

“If competitions spark ideas, platform empowerment is the fuel that turns them into a wildfire,” Wang added. In April 2025, Pinduoduo launched its 100 Billion Support initiative, pledging over 100 billion yuan in capital and traffic over three years to strengthen its e-commerce ecosystem, boost agriculture, and support SMEs. Under this plan, the Duoduo Premium Produce program targets key agricultural and pastoral regions, offering tailored development support. To date, special teams have visited hundreds of areas to design customized plans for local specialties.

The results are tangible. In its 2025 Mid-Year Report, Pinduoduo reported a 47% year-on-year growth in agricultural product sales. The number of merchants rose sharply, with more than 30% of new participants born after 2000. SKUs for premium and innovative products jumped 54%, reflecting both greater variety and higher quality.

Pinduoduo’s platform has become a “translator,” connecting agritech scientists with rural entrepreneurs. For instance, Yang Jing, a graduate from rural Yunnan, transformed her research into a business that unifies dozens of local products, boosting villagers’ income within a year. In Shandong, a young team sold over 10,000 boxes of Autumn Moon pears in a single day via livestreaming, showing how traditional farmers are becoming digital operators.

The Global Agri-Inno Startup Competition exemplifies this approach: projects like the Muyuan Cloud Computing team use AI and multi-sensor technologies to monitor pig behavior, while U.S. teams leverage nanosensors to predict crop diseases. These innovations, nurtured by competitions and supported by the platform, ultimately reach the market.

Pinduoduo’s model—integrating research, market access, and capital—has become a benchmark for Chinese-style agricultural innovation. By linking scientists, entrepreneurs, and consumers, it ensures that technology takes root in the field, not just on paper.

As Wang emphasized, the platform’s systemic approach lowers barriers for young innovators and aligns with global food security goals. By turning agriculture into an inclusive, talent-driven, and technology-led ecosystem, Pinduoduo has transformed an ancient industry into a global model, exporting insights to developing regions in Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America.