Workers package broccoli at a family farm in Rudong county, Nantong. [Photo/WeChat account: dream8086]

Dayu town in Rudong county, Nantong has been cultivating broccoli since 2001. The broccoli is sowed in the spring and covers an area of nearly 20,000 mu (1,333 hectares). It is expected to bring in over 100 million yuan ($14.10 million) for farmers in the first half of 2020.

Over the past 20 years, nearly all villages throughout the town have been cultivating broccoli, and more than 10 cooperatives and one leading enterprise have opened in the town. Its largest broccoli cultivation center covers an area of 2,000 mu and receives about 6,000 to 8,000 yuan per 0.67 hectare in net income.

Farmers are encouraged to keep records in order to ensure the security and quality of their broccoli. Experts from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and other agricultural institutions are also invited to offer frequent technological guidance.

"After hearing that broccoli is being harvested, I came immediately to purchase 750 metric tons," said Han Yirui, a wholesaler at the Shanghai Jiangqiao Vegetable Wholesale Market, who has worked with the town for 10 years.

The town is striving to build itself into a "broccoli town", and a core cultivation area covering an area of 10,000 mu has been established. The town is working to gather companies, family farms, cultivation bases, and farmers in order to implement a unified cultivation model and develop a chain of production, supply and sales.