BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua News Agency) – When people see scientific facilities such as water quality monitoring laboratories and photobioreactors set up next to vast fields of farmland, they probably don't think of agriculture.
More than 130 hectares of technology-enabled fields in Chibi City, Hubei Province, central China, are the result of years of sustained efforts by master's degree farmer and grassroots lawmaker Tian Shuxian. Re-formed into a base.
Tian, 35, has been elected as a delegate to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) in 2023. He used his knowledge of agriculture and technology to develop modern eco-agriculture and bring prosperity to the local population.
Mr. Tian grew up in the countryside and decided to devote himself to farming when he was in high school. She majored in biotechnology during her undergraduate years, and later she earned a master's degree in fisheries science.
“I chose the major to prepare me for agriculture,” she said.
After working for two years at an IT company in eastern China's Zhejiang province, she left the booming internet industry in 2017 and returned to her hometown of Anfeng village to begin a career in crayfish farming.
Some local people were already raising crayfish, but their production faced bottlenecks of low yield and poor quality. Determined to make a difference, Tian set up a laboratory right next to his contracted fields to monitor water conditions and improve feed.
Using her knowledge of aquatic bait science, she successfully improved water quality and feeding systems, earning more than 10,000 yuan (approximately US$1,390) in one breeding season.
Tian wasn't just looking for profit. Local residents poured pesticides into the water at the end of each fishing season, and Tian knew that this was contaminating the water and soil.
To solve these environmental problems, Tian developed a comprehensive and environmentally friendly farming model that raises crayfish and ducks together in rice fields. The ducks eat the leftover crayfish and use their droppings to fertilize the rice.
The new model proved successful and more and more local residents began to follow it. In 2018, Mr. Tian founded a cooperative specializing in eco-friendly crayfish breeding, which currently has 226 members and estimated total production of 8 million yuan this year.
After being elected to the NPC, Mr. Tian proposed two proposals related to promoting agricultural informatization and strengthening the protection of arable land.
This year, he plans to introduce a new farming model that integrates crayfish farming, rice planting and eel farming, and promised to provide door-to-door technical guidance and support to local residents.
“She has led us to do things together. We trust her because she really works for the benefit of all of us,” said villager Chen. Hongfu said.
Tian also helps local farmers expand their sales channels through online stores and live streaming. “Before, farming depended on the elderly people in the village. But now, with Mr. Tian's efforts, more young people are willing to return to the village,” said Anfeng Village Party Committee member at the time. said Luo Jinghe, who was the head of the school.
For the next annual meeting of the National People's Congress, Mr. Tian has prepared a proposal on supporting integrated agricultural models of rice planting and aquaculture, with the aim of promoting rural revitalization and promoting low-carbon agricultural development.
“This model can reduce production inputs and reduce carbon emissions,” Tian said. “If industry and the environment improve, people's lives will be better and the countryside will be more beautiful.” ■
