A scene of a rice bumper harvest in the Chongchuan Economic Development Zone in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat account: chongchuanonline] 

The Chongchuan Economic Development Zone in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, has over the past decade been ramping up efforts to build a modern agricultural demonstration base that will be key to guaranteeing its grain supply. 

For example, the zone has built a 10,000-hectare fertile farmland, a 15,000-mu (1,000 hectares) well-facilitated farmland and a 2,000-mu smart agriculture base with an investment of eight billion yuan ($1.1 billion). 

Rice, wheat, vegetables and fruits have been planted on the farmland and the yields per mu (about 0.067 hectare) for wheat and rice in 2021 reached 475 kilograms and 650 kg respectively. 

The zone has been utilizing internet of things, pump stations, and intelligent irrigation system to build a provincial modern agriculture demonstration base by the end of 2024. It has also leveraged livestreaming platforms to increase sales channels for its agricultural products, as well as implemented a series of subsidies to encourage more people to become engaged in farming. 

To date, 150,000 farmers who have lost their land have been covered by the social security system, and this has greatly improve the people's sense of gain, happiness and security.