Gen Z brings smart farming to rural China

On a stretch of deep-purple shale soil in Suining, southwest China's Sichuan Province, farmers once had limited choices. Daikons and potatoes were among the few vegetables that could survive the nutrient-poor land.

Today, the same soil is producing glossy tomatoes and succulent watermelons.

Inside a greenhouse at a local agricultural park, a training session is underway. The instructors are all in their early twenties, while their students are village farmers, many of them middle-aged.

The class is part of a smart greenhouse built over the past year by more than 30 young people, a group locals now call the "Gen Z Farming Class." Their efforts have transformed once-barren land into fields producing several times more than before.

Biology gave new life to the soil

More than 30 graduates from agricultural colleges found their way to the smart greenhouse in Suining. The biggest challenge came before any seeds were planted – the soil itself.

"The soil in Suining is short on organic matter," said Bao Wen, the group's leader and an agricultural digital technician. "You can't grow high-quality vegetables here without changing what's underground."

The team turned to biological technologies for solutions. He Sijun, a microbial fertilizer specialist, led months of experiments to identify the most effective strains.

"We selected five types of bacteria and ran more than 20 trials over three months," He said. "In the end, two stood out – bacillus subtilis and lactic acid bacteria – for fermentation efficiency, soil improvement and pest control."

Rather than adding nutrients directly, the microbes rebuild the soil's nutrient cycling, which in turn improves productivity even in nutrient-poor soil.

Automated farming

The trial phase was physically demanding. Improving 50 mu (about 3.3 hectares) of land required spreading more than 150 tonnes of organic fertilizer. Each bucket filled with fertilizer weighed over 10 kilograms, and workers had to carry dozens of loads a day.

Rather than relying on manpower, the group spent two weeks building an automated fertilization and irrigation system.

Nutrient solutions are now mixed automatically and delivered directly into the soil. With a mobile phone app, operators can select farming zones and complete the irrigation process remotely.

"In the past, agriculture required farmers to walk through the fields every day," Bao said. "Now we monitor all the data on a screen."

Inside the greenhouse, thousands of data points are monitored in real time, including temperature, humidity, soil conditions and plant growth. Even a deviation as small as 0.1 triggers an adjustment.

A fourfold increase in value

After a year-long technological transformation, output value per mu has risen from around 30,000 yuan ($4,200) to 120,000 yuan – a fourfold increase.

Tang Kaiwen, a local farmer, was amazed by the changes brought to farming. "This is real high-tech farming. We're no longer dependent on the weather. Yields are higher, and the vegetables sell for better prices," said Tang.

Improved soil quality now enables farmers to grow vegetables that sell for more. Over the past year, the team has planted more than 20 new varieties of fruits and vegetables, including fruit cucumbers, "ice-cream" watermelons and cherry tomatoes.

Eleven varieties have received China's Green Food Certification, and many sell out shortly after reaching the market.

Beyond raising production, the group has focused on sharing its knowledge. More than 100 local farmers have found new jobs working in the smart greenhouses.

To make the technology accessible, the young instructors created hand-drawn diagrams explaining how to operate the greenhouse.

Expansion

The project is now expanding. Two additional smart greenhouses covering 180 mu are under construction in nearby villages.

Zhang Mingying, another member of the team, said the group has ambitious plans for the year ahead.

"Our goal is to build 10,000 mu of smart greenhouses in surrounding villages," Zhang said. "If we succeed, the economic value of the vegetable products will be considerable."

For now, rows of tomatoes, watermelons and cauliflowers continue to grow on land once thought unsuitable for such crops. Technology, combined with the new forms of collaboration between Gen Z and local farmers, is redefining what farming looks like in rural China.