Deeply rooted in the black soil of Northeast China's Jilin province, Han Fengxiang, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, has been exploring an innovative agricultural production model to increase grain yield and quality with smart agricultural equipment.
She attended the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress held from March 5 to 12 in Beijing.
"We cannot rely solely on selling raw grain. We must extend the industrial chain and deepen the planting-breeding cycle. It is crucial to transform the cooperative's agricultural products into branded products to increase farmers' incomes," said Han, head of the Fenghuangshan Agricultural Machinery and Farmers Specialized Cooperative in Lishu county, Jilin province.
A native of Lishu, she returned to her hometown in 2010 to establish the cooperative and visited households one by one to persuade farmers to join. Starting with only five households, the cooperative now has 158 households and has driven income growth for residents across nine surrounding villages.
Regarding smart systems, the cooperative has established a weather-monitoring station. Equipped with satellite remote sensing technology, the station monitors real-time data, including soil moisture, temperature and sunlight, which are displayed on a large screen.
Han focused on land development and suggested promoting the in-depth integration of high-standard farmland and smart agriculture, attracting young people to return to their hometowns and bring intelligent technologies to boost the vitality of the local black soil.
