China Unicom launched an agricultural information program in 26 provinces, regions and cities across the country on July 26, Xinhua reported.   The program relies on information providers in villages and towns to formulate suitable agricultural information for locals, then categorize and distribute the information according to farmer’s requests.   China Unicom has already established 1764 information collection stations. 1 200 000 agricultural users are involved. It estimates that 5000 information collection stations would be established by the end of this year and the number of agricultural users would amount to 5 000 000.   Catering to the farmers’ different needs, regular information would be sent to fixed or mobile information terminals include fixed lines, mobile phones and internet. Farmers can also send individual information to the network through the operators. In addition, farmers can consult academics or experts on the phone through the operators.   Associate Minister of Agriculture, Niu Dun, said that the new program can cater to farmers’ needs and distribute low-cost information that can assist agricultural development and production. The distribution of individual agricultural information is accurate and timely. China Unicom has established an information platform that is inseparable from agricultural life.   The program is developed on the foundation of the agricultural information website established by China Unicom three years ago. It now costs 5 yuan a month to receive tailor-made information daily through an individual pager or mobile phone. It costs 3 yuan to send 3 to 5 items daily through SMS.