Young farm manager contributes to rural revitalization in SW China’s Sichuan

“This is the eighth spring farming season since I returned to the countryside,” said Wang Lingli, a 29-year-old professional farm manager in Chongzhou, a county-level city administered by Chengdu, the capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Wang Lingli, a professional farm manager, checks on the growth of wheat in Chongzhou, a county-level city administered by Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo/West China City Daily)

After graduating from university eight years ago, Wang chose to return to her hometown to help her father, a professional farm manager of a farmers’ cooperative.

During this year’s spring farming season, Wang has been responsible for 5,600 mu (373 hectares) of fertile farmland transferred from local farmers to the cooperative.

Wang has been busy with the prevention and control of wheat diseases and insect pests. “In the past, farmers adopted the traditional way of spraying pesticides, and it took a person a day to manually spray pesticides on 10-plus mu of land. A drone can now spray over 200 mu of land per day,” the woman said.

“The output of wheat of our cooperative is expected to exceed 1,800 tonnes this year, with the yield per mu surpassing 325 kilograms,” Wang said.

The farm manager said the cooperative mainly plants varieties of rice, rapeseed and wheat recommended by agricultural departments in Chengdu. Almost all these varieties are independently developed in Sichuan and suitable for the farmland in the province, and they feature high disease resistance and a high yield.

Wang Lingli, a professional farm manager, uses a drone to spray pesticides over a wheat field in Chongzhou, a county-level city administered by Chengdu, capital of southwest China’s Sichuan Province. (Photo/West China City Daily)

It’s estimated that rice will be planted on 5,600 mu of fields this year, said Wang, who expects a bumper harvest, thanks to the application of advanced agricultural machines and scientific field management.

Last year, Wang’s cooperative achieved a total output of wheat and grain of 3,700 tonnes. The cooperative was also recognized as a national-level one and Wang was hailed as national role model in grain production.

An increasing number of young people are willing to return to rural areas to engage in farming and help boost rural revitalization, which is inseparable from the government’s support policies.

Chengdu has certified 20,400 professional farm managers since the establishment of a training system for professional farm managers by local authorities in 2012. “There are over 2,000 professional farm managers in Chongzhou, most of whom are less than 45 years old,” Wang said.