Cangnan Establish a Full-Process Mechanization in Agricultural Production and Greenhouse Tomatoes Boost Production with "Machines Replacing Manual Labor"

While plowing, the processes of ridge formation, pipe laying, and film covering are completed in one go. During planting, medication and fertilization are applied automatically and evenly and at harvest time, rail transportation liberates a significant amount of labor... Recently, a significant event showcasing the developmental advantages of fully mechanized production of greenhouse tomatoes was held at the Cangnan facility of the East China regional experimental station of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' major task innovation project for the bulk vegetable industry technical system.

Recently, Cangnan in Wenzhou was selected as one of the first batch of national demonstration counties for the full-process mechanization of agricultural production. Over the next two years, the focus will be on greenhouse tomatoes as the leading industry, concentrating on five production links: land preparation, planting, irrigation and fertilization, environmental control, and harvesting and transportation, to promote full-process mechanization and accelerate the transformation, increase in production, and income growth of Cangnan tomatoes.

These two scenarios reflect Cangnan's tomato industry's exploration of transforming from labor-intensive traditional agriculture to technology-intensive modern agriculture through mechanization reform. But to accelerate this transformation process, what does Cangnan need to do? Dr. Song Weitang, a Ph.D. from China Agricultural University and a long-term supporter of Cangnan's tomato industry development, has proposed a"three-step" development model that deeply integrates horticulture, agricultural machinery, and facilities.

Cangnan is one of the key tomato production areas in the country, with 35,200 mu (approximately 5,780 acres) of greenhouse tomato planting area last year and a total industry chain value of 1.64 billion yuan. According to the person in charge of the Cangnan County Agricultural, Rural, and Bureau of Administration, thanks to the scale and planting conditions of Cangnan's facility tomato development, Cangnan has obtained the"entry ticket" to create a national demonstration county for full-process mechanization of agricultural production. The next step will be to use the opportunity of the demonstration county creation to increase policy support, actively carry out demonstration creation, strengthen agricultural machinery service organizations, accelerate the transformation of suitable machinery greenhouses, improve the construction of smart agricultural machinery, and promote the application of the deeply integrated model of horticulture, agricultural machinery, and facilities to comprehensively advance the transformation and upgrading of Cangnan's tomato industry.(ZhongXin)