When you see Zhu Shasha for the first time, you may not imagine this young, comely woman, with a ponytail, is a professional farmer who is skilled at planting rice. In 2016, Zhu, then 23, quit her job as a kindergarten teacher to begin farming in Shuguang, a village in Xiaoshan, a district in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province. 

During the past seven years, she has grown into a "new farmer," who has mastered an advanced production mode, and advanced agricultural technologies. Now, she is head of an agricultural cooperative, and she contracts more than 2,000 mu (133.33 hectares) of farmland in Shuguang Village. 

Become a 'New Farmer' 

Zhu's parents began contracting farmland in Shuguang nearly 17 years ago. Working the land became tiring for them as they grew older. So, in 2016, Zhu took over her family's contracted farmland, which covered nearly 200 mu (13.33 hectares), to take the load off her parents. Since then, she has studied rice-planting techniques, to use scientific methods to increase rice production, and to develop new rice varieties. 

Zhu participated in many training sessions involving agricultural mechanization and rice planting and production. She used what she learned to increase rice production, and she contracted more land to plant rice. In 2019, the rice yield reached 900 kilograms per mu, and her farm set a rice-yield record in Xiaoshan District. Throughout the years, she has won several district-level prizes for her highly productive crops. 

"Even though I grew up in the village, I seldom did farm work before. At the beginning, it was difficult for me to work in the field, when I learned planting techniques from agricultural experts … As time went on, I grew to deeply love the farmland, and I now am full of passion for my job," says Zhu. 

Every morning, early, Zhu inspects the land, to monitor growth of the crops, apply fertilizer, and/or control pests and crop diseases. She often works late. "In the past, I liked wearing beautiful skirts and dresses. Now, I only wear trousers that are convenient for farm work. However, I feel accomplished when I am able to use what I have learned to troubleshoot problems with the agricultural machines. It is all worth it," Zhu says. 

She has witnessed the great changes that have taken place in the local agriculture sector. "The mechanization level of farm work has increased. We have unmanned crop-protection machines, unmanned rice transplanters and other unmanned farm machines. My parents never thought that one day machines would help farmers do farm work. In the past, they transplanted rice seedlings and applied fertilizer with their hands. Now, we control unmanned aerial vehicles to plant seedlings and apply fertilizer with remote control," says Zhu. "I feel happy when I see my family farm is getting better and better. We, 'new farmers', should do what we can to promote the development of modern agriculture, so every farmer in the country will have great expectations for the future of farming." 

On Zhu's farm, the use of new agricultural technologies and machines has achieved good results. Compared with 10 years ago, her rice yield per mu has increased by about 200 kilograms. Other farmers in the village sing her praises as a young, large-scale grain producer. 

'New' Agriculture

Agricultural mechanization has helped countless farmers harvest their rice. Six years ago, a low-tech harvester could only harvest 20 mu (1.33 hectares) per day. Now, a more-advanced harvester (with modern technology) can harvest about 50 mu (3.33 hectares) of land per day. "The harvest efficiency has more than doubled. The environment of the harvester cab has also been greatly improved. The cab is installed with air conditioning, which makes the driver feel more comfortable," Zhu says. 

She provides various services, including grain and oil-crop planting, transplanting rice by machine, crop protection and tractor ploughing, to farmers in surrounding villages. Zhu has helped more than 20 villagers increase their annual output by 60 kilograms per mu. 

In the future, Zhu will make more efforts to expand the sales channel of her high-quality rice, and to use more "intelligent" agricultural machines to improve production efficiency.

Zhu has three goals — to grow delicious, organic rice, develop her own brand, and increase the area of contracted land to 3,000 mu (200 hectares). In 2022, she vacated 100 mu (6.67 hectares) of land, on which she tried to plant a new, high-quality rice variety. She reaped a bumper harvest, with an average yield of 500 kilograms per mu. The rice smells good, and it is soft and tender. She sold the rice through WeChat, China's major instant-messaging app. Many of her customers placed repeat orders for the high-quality rice. 

"I hope more and more young people, who master advanced agricultural knowledge and technologies, will return to the countryside, start their own agriculture-related businesses, and contribute to the country's rural revitalization," says Zhu.

Photos Supplied by Interviewee

(Women of China English Monthly September 2023 issue)