A fruitful endeavor

The farmer says he learned on the platform that the key to ensuring healthy growth of his new grape variety was the strict control of output. "Generally speaking, I have to keep this grape variety's production at half of that of its counterparts in the same area or else the quality will be compromised. In particular, the red color won't stay," Tang explains.

In recent years, experts have offered farming tips online and uploaded training videos to help the farmers of Majiadang. "They even visit us every year to demonstrate methods that can improve yield," Tang says.

A network of well-built roads in the village offers easy access to Jiulong Ecological Farm, which was founded by Tang in 2000, a year after the local authorities began allowing the transfer of rural land-use rights to develop agricultural parks.

Tang leased an area of 10.7 hectares and answered the government's call to explore ways for more profitable agriculture. "The land was undulated and scattered, and there were only mud tracks instead of roads in the neighborhood," he recalls.

Born to a family of farmers, hard work was in his genes. His family grew crops that were physically demanding. "Back then, every step-from transplanting rice seedlings to harvesting the rice-was done manually and mostly under the scorching sun," he says.

Not to be deterred by a challenge, he went on board with the local government's plan, and planted grapes and dates on the leased land.