Jilin province has selected a crop of innovative farmers with rich, practical experience to share their knowledge with other farmers.

Fifty are selected every three years for their hands-on experience rather than academic degrees, professional titles or personal status, Xinhua.net reported on Friday.

The program, launched in 2012, is designed to spread useful knowledge to other farmers.

Each expert receives a monthly stipend of 500 yuan ($80). The experts are selected based on recommendations from farming communities.