Sowing China's new path of 'green agriculture'

Representatives from the Jiangxi provincial subcouncil for China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the Italy-China Chamber of Commerce sign a cooperation agreement during Jiangxi Day at the Milan expo on July 18.

Wu said every step of agricultural recycling involves a considerable sum of investment

"Without using pesticides, you need to cultivate the land by planting some other trees that hardly bring any money-earning products," she said, "you also need technology. That's why the government's help is essential to agricultural companies that wish to follow the organic mode."

Hu said the Jiangxi provincial government is spending money on agricultural recycling because of the potential environmental benefits.

"The provincial government has special investments that make it possible for most villages to build a disposal pool," he said. "We are glad to find that it is a money-saving job because we are free from the common headache of air pollution."

Jiangxi is known for its air quality. Three hundred of its days a year are labeled as "good" by air quality officials, which is especially meaningful when Beijing and other cities and provinces are choking in smog.

The Jiangxi provincial government, to make its agricultural model sustainable and in an effort to raise the income of farmers, is trying to ensure that farmers economically benefit from their labor in the fields, said Hu. Their new mode of agriculture can, on average, increase a farmer's annual income by 3,000 yuan ($483.3; 442 euros), he claimed.

Their efforts perfectly fit the 2015 Milan expo and its "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life" theme, said Hu Youtao, vice-governor of the province. A provincial delegation held a special promotional event called Jiangxi Day on July 18 in the Chinese Pavilion to introduce Jiangxi's agricultural technologies.

Hu said the provincial sustainable methods of agriculture "prove that economic development and environmental protection are mutually compatible."

"It is our common responsibility to feed mankind", said Hu Youtao. "We hope to make more contributions to the nation and the world with our green mode of agriculture."

zhangzhouxiang@chinadaily.com.cn