Modernization, mechanization make farmer's life a breeze

In 2017, she set up the Silei Agricultural Machinery Cooperative with five other households to mechanize rice production and offer agricultural services to neighboring farmers.

After years of development, the cooperative has grown to 30 members with 40 sets of agricultural machinery valued at over 5 million yuan ($730,000).

Today, a drone can spray 13.33 hectares of farmland a day, which saves a lot on costs, as labor is expensive.

"Working on the farmland has become easier since we started using the agricultural machinery," she said.

As she has become more wealthy, Chen has sought to help other villagers. The cooperative employs 40 villagers during the busy season, paying 450,000 yuan in wages each year.

"Chen has not only become rich through modern agriculture, she's also created employment opportunities and is helping the other villagers make money, too," said Li Fuzhen, deputy Party secretary of Xinyunshan, adding that Chen has become a leader of the village's agricultural development.

As the government has increased its support for rural agricultural development through initiatives such as financial subsidies and land use rights, Chen feels she should work harder to repay society.

She said the cooperative plans to improve its agricultural services, strengthen its ability to help more villagers become wealthy, and play a major role in rural vitalization and agricultural modernization in the years to come.

Chen also plans to build a rice cultivation demonstration base that integrates cultivation, planting, management, harvesting, processing, storage and marketing to realize the development of the whole industrial chain from seeding to harvesting and marketing in the future. She is also looking to develop her own organic rice brand.