In the summer of Fengkai, the fragrance of rice waves fills the air.
At the “Unmanned Smart Agricultural Machinery Demonstration Base” in He’erkou Town, Fengkai County,
an unmanned combine harvester is operating with precision.
Not far away, at the Yixin Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center,
equipment for grain drying, straw utilization,
and cold chain storage is running efficiently, with constant noise.
The helmsman of this smart farm is
Yu Yiyao, a representative of the Zhaoqing Municipal People’s Congress and
Chairman of Guangdong Yixin Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.
Representative Yu Yiyao is deeply involved in planting, expanding breeding, and increasing farmers’ income, with Yu Yiyao on the left. Photo provided by the interviewee.
Social tools can be “traditional”, but agriculture must be “trendy”. This “traditionalist” who doesn’t even use WeChat is at the forefront of promoting the smart and modern transformation of Zhaoqing agriculture, injecting “smart chips” into modern agriculture. He is deeply involved in planting, expanding breeding, developing new feed, and promoting a cycle of planting and breeding to increase farmers’ income.
Now, Yu Yiyao has an additional identity—the head of the New Farmers’ Representative Liaison Station in Fengkai County, dedicated to building platforms and linking resources to allow more farmers to share in the dividends of modern agriculture.
1
Turning Straw into Treasure
Creating Green Circular Agriculture
At the Yixin Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center,
piles of white-packaged silage
emit a unique fermentation smell,
which is an important achievement of Yu Yiyao’s push for agricultural modernization.
“We rely on technological innovation to process waste materials such as corn stalks and rice straw into silage for livestock breeding.” Yu Yiyao explained, “This maximizes resource utilization: it reduces breeding costs, alleviates the pressure on grain feed demand, and, combined with our own breeding farms, promotes the resource utilization of manure, forming a green model of ‘planting and breeding cycles, efficient resource utilization.’”
At the Yixin Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center, piles of white-packaged silage emit a unique fermentation smell. Photo by Liu Shunxin, Southern+.
Silage, made through fermentation and sealing, is more durable than fresh feed, has higher nutritional value, and occupies less space, effectively improving resource utilization.The Yixin Agricultural model tightly couples planting and breeding, establishing an efficient “planting and breeding cycle” economy.
In recent years, Yu Yiyao has also led the company to promote the reclamation of abandoned land, renting and integrating over 10,000 acres of winter idle land in the province, scaling up the rotation of corn and rice, and intercropping rapeseed and oats in winter. By establishing demonstration points, he has driven farmers to plant on a large scale.
At the Yixin Agricultural “Unmanned Smart Agricultural Machinery Demonstration Base”, the unmanned combine harvester is operating with precision. Photo by Liu Shunxin, Southern+.
To optimize agricultural structure,Yu Yiyao actively cultivates regional advantageous planting and breeding industries, creating a “planting and breeding cycle” agricultural demonstration area, and through the “company + farmers + cooperatives” model, assists Zhaoqing agriculture in developing towards intensive, efficient, and ecological growth.。
2
Cultivating Local Black Goats
Striving to be the “Leading Sheep” of the Industry
Yu Yiyao’s agricultural landscape is far from limited to planting.
In recent years,
he has turned his attention to the locally distinctive
Fengkai County Liandu Black Goat,
determined to reshape its standardized breeding model,
“We want the Fengkai Black Goat to become the ‘leading sheep’ among the flock.”” Yu Yiyao said.
Although the Liandu Black Goat has a long history, it has long lacked a large-scale and standardized breeding system. Yu Yiyao’s team found that efficient breeding is key, while domestic breeding of local black goats is nearly blank. The seemingly simple first step of “introducing breeds” turned out to be fraught with difficulties—they searched extensively in Sichuan, Hainan, and Guangxi but found it hard to locate standardized breeding farms and purebred sources.
Yu Yiyao leads the team to establish a standardized breeding model for local black goats. Photo provided by the interviewee.
“No matter how difficult breeding is, this is the necessary path for industrialization; only standardization can lead to wealth.” Upholding the belief of a representative caring for the people, Yu Yiyao led the team deep into various places, even into many remote valleys, to “catch goats” and select breeding sources. After relentless efforts, the team finally established a standardized breeding model for local black goats.
“Now, our black goats have increased from three litters in two years to two litters a year, with a single litter size of 1-3 kids, and the survival rate has also significantly improved. The goal is to achieve 3-4 kids per litter in three years.” Yu Yiyao envisions, “In the first three years, we will lay the foundation, striving to achieve a scale of 50,000 ewes and 200,000 black goats per year in three to five years.I will fulfill my duties as a representative, distributing lambs to farmers after breeding, promoting collective breeding in villages, and driving regional industrial revitalization.”
3
The Role of the “New Farmer Station Master”
Gathering Resources to Promote Rural Revitalization
In 2023,
the Fengkai County People’s Congress Standing Committee innovatively explored the “Liaison Station +” model,
breaking the limitations of duty areas,
and at Yu Yiyao’s Yixin Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Center,
a regionally distinctive
“Fengkai County New Farmers’ Representative Liaison Station” was established.
As a representative of the Zhaoqing Municipal People’s Congress,
Yu Yiyao was appointed as the first station master.
Recently, the liaison station conducted its first representative duty activity. Photo by Huang Boguang.
This liaison station brings together 16 new farmers’ representatives from provincial, municipal, county, and town levels. The person in charge of the Fengkai County People’s Congress Standing Committee stated: “The liaison station aims to integrate the professional advantages of representatives from different fields, efficiently play their roles in connecting with the public,linking industries, and serving enterprises, accelerating the modernization, scale, and specialization of Zhaoqing agriculture, and contributing to the ‘High-Quality Development Project of Hundreds of Counties, Thousands of Towns, and Ten Thousand Villages.’”
Recently, the liaison station conducted its first representative duty activity after its establishment. 16 new farmers’ representatives brought their expertise in planting, breeding, deep processing, and live-streaming e-commerce to the research seminar, sharing their views and discussing development plans.
Yu Yiyao introduces the farm situation to the 16 new farmers’ representatives. Photo by Liu Shunxin, Southern+.
“This platform allows us to gather resources, discuss and exchange ideas, and more effectively fulfill our duties, jointly promoting high-quality development of agriculture in Fengkai and Zhaoqing.” Yu Yiyao said energetically, “We agreed to communicate regularly, whether during the day or at night, to ensure the platform is effective. By integrating resources, streamlining processes, and leveraging our strengths, we can unleash greater energy!”
Regarding the future of Fengkai agriculture, Yu Yiyao emphasized the need for more young people with technology and culture to join: “They have new ideas, high acceptance, and can inject new vitality into modern agriculture.” This “new farmer” who graduated from South China University of Technology is practicing the mission of new farmers with an engineering mindset and the responsibility of a representative, connecting to the new future of Zhaoqing agriculture.
Reporter Observation
“Representative Yu, can I add you on WeChat for follow-up information?” After the interview, the reporter habitually took out his phone to ask for contact information, but Yu Yiyao smiled and politely declined: “Agriculture is too busy, no need for WeChat.” He chooses to communicate via phone and text—this new farmer who refuses to use “trendy” social tools is cultivating the land with the most cutting-edge thinking.
In his view, the significance of a representative’s duties lies not in updating social media but in having a “full signal” in the fields. From smart agricultural machinery to new feed, from standardized pig farms to the black goat industry chain,he embodies the sense of responsibility of “the people elected me as a representative, I serve the people” by reshaping agricultural forms with industrial thinking, stepping into the fields, and caring for the common prosperity of the people.。
As a major agricultural county in Zhaoqing, Fengkai County has vast farmland and a large agricultural population, with fields and trees outlining the contours of an “oasis on the Tropic of Cancer”, providing a broad stage for new farmer representatives like Yu Yiyao. They are on a mission, striving to advance the modernization of Zhaoqing agriculture.
【Source】Southern+ Reporter Liu Shunxin, Zhaoqing People’s Congress
【Editor】Wang Wenqian 【Second Review】Kong Lixing 【Third Review】Hu Hao
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