Feature: "Moon" shines over way in transforming Chinese village with modern agriculture

A video screenshot shows Ming Yue promoting bergamot via live-streaming in Leshan, southwest China's Sichuan Province in October 2024. (Xinhua/Xue Chen)

by Xinhua writers Li Yilin, Yu Li and Xue Chen

CHENGDU, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Ming Yue has come full circle.

The 36-year-old woman, whose name literally means a bright moon in Chinese, spent 18 years away from her rural hometown in southwest China to pursue her dreams overseas. After five years studying at an American university, and seven years working in several top-tier Chinese cities, including as a senior auditor at Deloitte, she returned to her hometown in 2019 to work for her family's poultry farm.

It all seems to come back to the start. However, Ming thinks differently. Her vision of a "farmer" is far beyond the story of her own parents, two farmers of chicken.

In about six years, she has modernized her family business, Mia's Farm, located in Mojiang Village, Shawan District in the city of Leshan -- about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province.

The farm houses 800,000 laying hens and produces 500,000 eggs daily. It became a designated delivery warehouse for the Dalian Commodity Exchange in 2021, a major futures exchange in China that had become the world's largest agricultural futures market by 2024.

JOURNEYS BEYOND THE HOMETOWN

Born in a rural family engaged in poultry farming, Ming saw firsthand how agriculture improved her family's living conditions during the early stages of China's reform and opening up: Her family was able to purchase their first refrigerator, and she was able to study in a city, and eventually abroad.

Her childhood experiences instilled a deep gratitude for agriculture and a belief in its potential. However, parents' tiredness led her to question the limits of small-scale farming in China compared to the large-scale operations in the United States.

"I want to explore the potentials of poultry farming," she said.

At the University of California, Davis -- a renowned institution for agricultural and bioscience research -- Ming achieved dual degrees in Managerial Economics and Animal Science during her undergraduate years.

The experience of living and working abroad made Ming reassess the potential of agriculture. She began to see it as a highly specialized industry requiring diverse knowledge.

Returning to her hometown after graduation in 2012, Ming was struck by what she saw: mottled walls, rusty metal roofs and Leshan's first modern chicken house, barely a year old, still underutilized.

JOURNEY HOME

Determined to make a change, she resigned from her high-paying job as a senior auditor at Deloitte in Chengdu despite opposition from her family in 2019. Her resolve also inspired her husband, Lei Yu, her colleague at Deloitte and a city man who had never even seen a live chicken before coming to Shawan, to join her in the countryside.

The couple took over Ming's family workshop with 2,000 laying hens in a backyard coop, which dated back to 1997.

Ming bought the family's first computer. Focusing on utilizing smart devices to manage the chickens through intuitive data monitoring scientifically, Ming and Lei had no social life for the first five years.

"We spent day and night at the chicken farm, even eating and sleeping there," she recalled.

Their sacrifices paid off.

Now, the farm has 14 chicken houses covering an area of nearly seven hectares. With automation in feeding, egg collection, and manure cleaning, a modern chicken house can now be operated by a single person. The largest one can house up to 120,000 chickens.

Inside a chicken house, hens stay in giant three-tiered cages equipped with feeding troughs, with conveyor belts continuously transporting freshly laid eggs. Yet, the entire space is free of any unpleasant odors.

The manure from the chicken houses is transported via aerial conveyor belts to an organic fertilizer processing plant -- an innovative, sustainable agriculture practice.

So far, 589 local households have been involved in someway in Ming's farm, which has created 283 job positions.

NEW FARMERS

In China, farming has long been viewed as a labor-intensive, low-reward occupation and often considered a fallback for those lacking other career options.

As a "new farmer," Ming aims to change this perception. In her opinion, the "new" in "new farmer" is not just generational but also about tools and concepts.

She believes that returning to the countryside is not about suffering, "Chickens are now living in modern conditions, why do people live in outdated ways?"

At the end of a newly constructed rural road lined with trees and fields, several modern one-story buildings stand out. These were the farm's new media offices designed by Ming herself.

Here, urban elements like cafés and offices are integrated into the poultry farm and plantations, creating a unique blend of rural and urban aesthetics.

To showcase the changes in the countryside to young people returning home for the Spring Festival, Ming opened her café intentionally right before the long holiday, offering signature beverages such as "Egg Latte" and "Bergamot Americano."

China has invested heavily to develop its rural areas and improve farmer's lives in recent decades. In one of its latest moves, in December 2024, the Central Rural Work Conference called for strengthening agricultural technology and equipment support to ensure stable production and supply of grain and important agricultural products.

In response, the Shawan District Agricultural and Rural Bureau has made 4 million yuan (about 551,000 U.S. dollars) in policy funding available to Ming to support the upgrading of the manure treatment facilities. Additionally, the bureau has applied for over 1.8 million yuan in subsidies for Ming to support base construction, production line upgrades, and transportation and storage improvements.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, China is by far the world's largest egg producer, with 38 percent of global production.

"China does not lack chickens or eggs," Ming said. "What we need are experiments in exploring new agricultural solutions."

In 2022, she began operating her social media accounts and now has over 300,000 followers. Although live-streaming sales of eggs count for only 1 percent of total sales, Ming believes that social media is an essential tool.

Through the internet, she can quickly communicate with the market and adjust her strategies promptly.

She built a team of more than 20 young people for innovative agricultural integration.

Shawan District is also committed to cultivating more "new farmers" like Ming. The district has established a 10-million-yuan special talent fund for industries, supporting a number of farmers who either have capacities to help fellow villagers in boosting income, or have returned to villages to start business, while offering skill training among over 22,000 farmers.

CIRCULAR FARM

For future development, Ming envisions a diversified farm tailored to local conditions.

Ming has explored the integration of her farm with the local bergamot industry -- to build a circular farm.

The bergamot fruit is widely used in cosmetics. As a traditional Chinese medicine, bergamot can treat digestive system diseases and improve respiratory symptoms, eliminate inflammation.

The fruit of bergamot can be sold, and the branches and leaves can feed chickens. The chicken manure can be used to improve soil quality. This creates a waste-free sustainable farm, Ming said, adding that she plans to collaborate with universities to explore bergamot as new feed sources that integrate food and medicine in raising antibiotic-free laying hens.

Now, Ming has set her eyes on forming a positive cycle within the entire industry and society.

As a standardized demonstration farm, Ming shares her experience with poultry associations in Yunnan and Guangdong provinces, aiming to benefit more farmers. Also, she reveals plans to introduce agricultural research projects, exploring educational values in rural areas.

"We need young people with a sense of responsibility like Ming," said Zhou Qiang, an official of Shawan District.

Standing outside the chicken houses, Ming looked toward the fields in the distance proudly. "Where the farm is, is where my home is," she said. ■

Ming Yue (R) discusses with her team member at the Chicken Farm Café in Leshan, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 8, 2025. (Xinhua/Xue Chen)

This undated photo shows Ming Yue checking a hen in a chicken house in Leshan, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua)