This year's spring has seen more modern agricultural technology being applied to farmland in Jilin province, with the major achievements being cloud-seeding, better irrigation methods, and assistance from research institutes.

A spring drought and abnormal weather patterns earlier this year spelt trouble for the province, along with higher temperature and strong winds, since April 11, resulting in 63 percent less rainfall than for the average. So, the provincial meteorological department sent six aircrafts aloft to seed the clouds and produce heavy rain across the province so the agriculture no longer has to completely depend on the weather.

Other projects involved water-conserving irrigation with new sprinkler technology from France, which is automated and adjusts itself to the plant conditions, promoting water conservation and better yields.

To promote the use of more modern agriculture, one county has allied itself with 10 research institutes including the Academy of Sciences and Agricultural University, in the city of Beijing, and now, after several years of trial runs, has developed a more protective tillage system, with one major grower, Zhang Fengcai, explaining that he has been able to protect his 4 million square meters of crops from the drought with a no-plowing technique that uses straw.

To increase the use of advanced farm machinery across the province, there are also preferential policies on machinery purchases, covering all farmers and cooperation agreements have been signed with the Agricultural Bank of China to provide more financial support, while land protection, green planting, and sustainable development ideas are also considered.

Edited by Roger Bradshaw