Farmers boost their incomes with greenhouses in Zhejiang

Strawberry farmer Yao Lifan is looking forward to earning at least 20 percent more next year thanks to a new land transfer policy and the practice of modern aggregated agriculture.

Yao, 36, signed a contract early last month to exchange his 4,000-square-meter household farming plot in Wuchang village for greenhouses covering the same area in the second phase of the Small and Micro Modern Agriculture Industrial Park in Yaozhuang, a town in Jiashan county, Zhejiang province.

The first phase of the park, covering 400 hectares, was launched last year with an investment of 70 million yuan ($10.8 million). It is the first such park in the Yangtze River Delta region.

"Moving into the park and taking possession of four 1,000-square-meter greenhouses will make irrigation much easier and the output will rise by at least 20 percent thanks to the use of smart agricultural technologies and more advanced farming infrastructure," Yao said, adding he is confident that the four greenhouses will provide his family with an annual income of over 200,000 yuan.

The completion of the second phase of the park by the end of this year will allow 800 farmers to increase their output, township authorities said.

The practice of scientific and smart farming in the park is also expected to gradually improve the structure of farming on 3,000 hectares of scattered farmland in the town.

The town is home to nearly 4,000 farmers like 61-year-old Wang Shanhua, who used to grow eggplants, strawberries and tomatoes.

"A farmer for over half my life, I was previously reluctant to move into the park," he said.

However, after moving into the park last year, Wang was able to significantly increase his output, with his three new greenhouses of eggplants boosting his family's annual income by more than 20 percent to 150,000 yuan.

"With the speeding up of rural farmland aggregation and land transfers, these farmers can still maintain their traditional farming business, with a better income ensured," said Yu Wenjie, director of the town's agriculture and rural affairs office.

Cao Xiwen contributed to this story.