NPC deputy highlights smart technology in rural revitalization

A deputy to the 14th National People's Congress said the application of technology in farming not only helps increase farmers' income but also contributes to national food security on the sidelines of the Two Sessions.

Han Fengxiang, also chairperson of a farmers' cooperative in Lishu County, Siping City, northeast China's Jilin Province, made the remarks at the Deputies' Corridor held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday.

Recalling when she opened the cooperative after graduating from university, Han said there were only five members at the cooperative and most of the local farmers, who used to traditional farming mode – relying on weather and physical work, doubted the technology used in her cooperative.

But the yield at the cooperative was 30 percent higher than that of the traditional planting at that time, Han said, adding that then the farmers were completely convinced and followed her to achieve high yield.

Advanced machines including unmanned tractor and unmanned plant protection machine have been used in the farmland managed by her cooperative, Han said, adding that her cooperative led more than 800 farmers in 9 villages nearby to achieve a total grain output of more than 10 million kilograms in 2023.

Han said that the cooperative's membership has grown by 20 times to 158 homes, and it has been recognized as a national model cooperative.

Remembering that the rice bowls of the Chinese people must be firmly in our own hands and our rice bowls should be filled mainly with Chinese crops, Han said: "We will work harder to produce more grain in a variety of areas, and make more contributions to national food security while promoting people's income."

(Cover: Han Fengxiang, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, is interviewed ahead of the second plenary meeting of the second session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2024. /Xinhua)