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Tibetans Introduce Modern Farming Techniques
Seventy-year-old Nima Ciren never expected that at his age, he could still learn something about farming. But the wizened old man admits the new farming techniques being introduced in Tibet are an improvement.
Nima Ciren has been working the land since he was a child. He learned the art of farming from his parents.
For generations, the people of Kesong village, in the south of the Tibet Autonomous Region, have farmed the land using traditional methods.
But in recent years, things have begun to change. Even Nima Ciren admits the new ways are better.
NIMA CIREN, Farmer (Kesong Village, Southern Tibet) Said: "I never thought science could be of much use to a farmer. But since we started using machines our whole village has benefited."
Now, more than 100 hectares of crops in Kesong village are being mechanically farmed. High quality seed has increased production ever further.
They even had to build a storage shed for the surplus grain. Other improvements to the village include the roads. The farmers built them so they could drive their tractors to the fields. Mechanical harvesters are now a common sight.
SUOLANG DUNZHU, Farmer (Kesong Village, Southern Tibet) Said: "It used to take me six months to harvest and get my grain to market. Now it takes me just two weeks."
Kesong village is typical of development in the Tibetan countryside today. Each year, more and more families are switching to mechanised farming.
One of the people at the heart of this agricultural revolution is Yang Zhongqiang. For the past thirty years, Yang has been teaching scientific farming in Tibet. At first the local farmers were suspicious. But he won their trust with his knowledge and commitment to improving their lives.
YANG ZHONGQIANG (Agricultural Scientist)Said: "What impressed me most was the way their own thinking changed. They were resistant to new ideas at first, but now they welcome my suggestions."
The district market is proof of the way things have changed. You can buy fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, poultry and meat, much of it grown in Tibet.
While the villages are still not self-sufficient in food, they now have the money to buy what they cannot grow from other parts of China. By adopting new ways of thinking, they have become part of a wider world.
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