Update: 8:25 p.m.

Huawei has denied reports that it is working with Yuan Longping to cultivate rice. 

It did not say whether rotating chairman Hu Houkun had misspoke or was misquoted in earlier Chinese media reports.

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Original report: 3:06 p.m.

Huawei is bringing the internet of things (IoT) to … rice.

The company has been working with Yuan Longping, China’s “Father of Hybrid Rice,” since August 2018, rotating chairman Hu Houkun announced Monday.

The telecoms giant is offering digital assistance to a project that aims to solve widespread soil salination problems by increasing certain rice varieties’ salt tolerance, Hu said. Huawei is lending meteorological equipment and underground monitoring devices, and its big data centers will tailor agricultural plans.

The partnership aims to cultivate 16 million acres of arable land out of 247 million acres of salinized land.

If all goes to plan, the new arable soil could increase rice supplies by 30 billion kilograms per year, which could potentially feed 80 million people, Yuan said, according to Chinese media.

An initial project is in trial operation in China’s eastern Shandong province.

See more of our Huawei coverage here.