The lawmaker empowering a new generation of young farmers

BEIJING -- For several years, Wei Qiao has been pondering the question of how to draw more young people into work related to agriculture, farmers and rural areas.

Wei is a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) and head of a cooperative on agricultural machinery in Zhenjiang, east China's Jiangsu Province. In 2017, she resigned from her job at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and resettled in the fields of her hometown.

She subsequently found success both as an entrepreneur and as a "new farmer," a term usually referring to young people moving from big cities to the countryside to engage in agricultural activities.

Wei believes that "new farmers" should be knowledgeable and well-educated, as they will be the mainstay and leaders in the ongoing efforts to build China into an agricultural powerhouse.

Since becoming an NPC deputy in January 2023, she has spared no effort in fulfilling her duty by soliciting opinions from local farmers, agricultural technicians and businesses, and communicating with local higher education institutions related to agriculture.

At the first session of the 14th NPC in March last year, Wei proposed a suggestion regarding a plan focusing on "new farmers" to support the cause of building the country into an agricultural powerhouse.

The suggestion soon drew the attention of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOARA). Following on-site research, the ministry laid out a number of relevant measures, such as adding university students who have moved to the countryside to a program for cultivating high-quality farmers.

The MOARA has also worked with education authorities to introduce policies in various localities on cultivating agricultural majors in a targeted manner to address the specific demands of local agriculture.

Apart from the policies, Wei has led the efforts by transforming her smart farm into a base integrating production, study, research and application, where those majoring in agriculture can practise with cutting-edge agricultural technology.

To make sure agriculture grows, farmers are better off and the countryside becomes more beautiful, not only should local talent be further educated and deployed, but more talent should be brought in for that purpose, according to Wei.

"We should explore a modernized agricultural development mode that is profitable, sustainable and replicable at the same time," she said.