Modern methods allowing farmers to thrive
Modern agriculture is thriving in Jiading, turning the industry from productionoriented to leisure-oriented and making farmers more professional as well as earning them more income.
Mao Genlong, a farmer in Dengta Village, grows different fruits and vegetables in the 20-mu (13,000 square meters) land he contracted.
Strawberries are the main crop but out of season he rotates corn, melons and watermelons in his field.
“When there are no natural disasters, my wife and I can get about 300,000 yuan (US$46,283) from the farming work,” Mao said.
Mao and his fellow farmers need to keep updating their ideas about farming as well as make better use of the land to ensure their income.
Mao has always considered himself lucky as a farmer in Jiading. Each month he receives government subsidies of fertilizer and pesticides.
Besides the financial support, there are also training classes.
Meanwhile, the preliminary growing of the seeds is also taken care of by the district’s agricultural department.
Li Linping is from Anhui Province, but he earns a comfortable living in Jiading by growing watermelons.
When the watermelons are ripe, he carries 4,000 kilograms of the fruit out of his greenhouses each day.
His produce has found favor with local people, with longterm enterprise partners and customers that keep coming back. He and his family are able to earn an annual income of 200,000 yuan.
More farmers in Jiading are richer with technology and their hardworking nature. There are now 371 new professional farmers recognized in the district.