As a "new farmer" born in the 1980s, Han Fengxiang, head of Fenghuangshan Agricultural Machinery and Farmers Specialized Cooperative in Lishu county in Northeast China's Jilin province, has spearheaded efforts to promote rural vitalization.

By introducing agricultural equipment, Han's cooperative has achieved fully-mechanized and large-scale planting. By actively extending the agricultural industrial chain, the cooperative has created a "planting, breeding, processing and marketing" model.

Han Fengxiang (fourth from the right), a deputy to the National People's Congress from Lishu county in Northeast China's Jilin province,  interacts with villagers in a field. [Photo provided to npc.gov.cn]

From its humble beginning with five members, the cooperative has now grown to be a 158-member establishment, managing 15,000 mu (1,000 hectares) of farmland and covering production in nine villages across two townships. With 73 units of large agricultural machines, the cooperative achieved a total grain output of over 10 million kilograms in 2023.

Located in the heart of the Songliao Plain's golden corn belt, Lishu county is one of China's major grain-producing counties. Making the protection of black soil as a top priority, the cooperative has made continuous efforts to explore innovative cropping model and achieved a yield 30 percent higher than that of traditional farming.

In a promising development, the cooperative has been included in the project of building national bases for innovation and application of digital farming in 2023. Han has keenly felt the tremendous changes that technology has brought to farming.

Han Fengxiang (third from the left) demonstrates the digital agriculture application system. [Photo provided to npc.gov.cn]

"By utilizing drones and monitoring stations to collect, monitor, and analyze environmental and soil data and provide alerts in real time, this 'smart brain' helps us identify and solve problems in a timely manner," Han said.

With the intelligent facilities of the meteorological comprehensive monitoring station, she and her fellow villagers have bid farewell to the days of relying on weather and experience to make farming decisions, transitioning to technology-driven agriculture.

In order to extend the industrial chain, the cooperative focuses on three sectors—increasing yield per unit area with new seeds and the reasonable use of fertilizers, intercropping corn and beans and cultivating high-value economic crops for the establishment of unique products for each village.

Taking part in the province's "Straw to Meat" program, the cooperative integrates farming with animal husbandry, raising 160 heads of beef cattle and planning to develop a small-scale circular economy.

By bridging online and offline sales channels, Han said that a livestreaming sales platform is in the pipeline, with plans for cooperative members to become live streamers. When introducing agricultural products, the display screen behind the streamer will showcase the entire process from planting to production, allowing viewers to scan QR codes for more information.

"At present, the crops in the three sectors are thriving," Han said. "In the northern regions, crops are typically planted once a year. This year, after harvesting the winter wheat, we will try to plant early soybeans in small quantities. This is for experimental exploration, and I believe we will make it."

Since 2015, Han has participated in various training programs for new professional farmers, young farm owners, and agricultural managers in Jilin.

In 2023, after being elected as a deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), Han felt a greater sense of responsibility. She has since visited numerous agricultural cooperatives across the county, engaged in deep conversations with farmers and conducted detailed and extensive surveys.

At the annual NPC session last year, she proposed increasing investment in rural infrastructure. Her suggestions, particularly on addressing the issue of clearing drainage ditches to reduce flood damage, received a positive response from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Local authorities earmarked funds to repair and construct drainage ditches throughout the county accordingly.

During this year's NPC session in March, she submitted proposals for increasing subsidies for agricultural machinery and enhancing technical training for farmers.

Han Fengxiang poses for a photo while attending the second session of the 14th National People's Congress in March 2024. [Photo provided to npc.gov.cn]

Han, as a member of the NPC youth delegation, visited Russia in May, where she shared the current state of agricultural development in Jilin and her entrepreneurial story with the Russian side. Witnessing their keen interest in her endeavors, she felt greatly inspired and resolved to make greater achievements in her career, effectively demonstrating the pioneering role of an NPC deputy.

"On the one hand, I feel the strength of our motherland. Achieving such development accomplishments in just a few decades is truly remarkable. On the other hand, I see broader market opportunities. Our cooperative's agricultural products should not only reach across the nation but also enter the global market," Han said.

Encouragingly, inspired by Han's story, more and more ambitious youths are returning to rural areas and painting a more magnificent picture of rural vitalization.

Meng Wei and Zhou Yudong contributed to this story.