Xinhua News Agency, Wuhan, September 16th Title: China’s “Cabled United Nations”: using the power of science and technology to provide dining tables for 1.4 billion people

Xinhua News Agency reporters Cao Peixian and Tanaka Quan

In Jiayu County, Hubei Province, ordinary cabbage is no longer just a vegetable.It is a symbol of a quiet "agricultural revolution".

The county, known as the "United Nations of Cabbage," has become an important engine in China's food supply chain, proving that even the most common crops can be at the forefront of innovation.

The story of Jiayu Cabbage is one of extraordinary transformation.“As recently as the 1980s, China still relied on imports of cabbage seeds from Japan and the Netherlands.Taking food safety into our own hands is what we are determined to work towards.” said Qiu Zhengming, chief scientist of the Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences who works in the Jiayu Vegetable Science and Technology Demonstration Park.

A team of scientists led by pioneers such as Fang Zhiyuan of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences embarked on a decades-long mission.Their goal is simple but profound: to ensure that the Chinese people can eat fresh, high-quality cabbage all year round.

They overcame difficulties one by one - from breeding China's first cabbage hybrid to cultivating disease-resistant varieties, to creating strains suitable for different seasons, and painstakingly cultivating cold-resistant, sweeter varieties for winter harvest.

The results of this "long-term effort" are amazing.Today, in China's core main production areas of overwintering cabbage, more than 70% of overwintering cabbage is domestically produced.This transformation is not only a reflection of national pride, but also the cornerstone of China's food supply security strategy.

Qiu Zhengming said: "It is important to use technology to promote production.With this foundation, people's income will be stable.”

In the 460-acre vegetable science and technology demonstration garden in Jiayu, more than 2,000 cabbage varieties are trial-grown every year, and they are updated every year to select the most suitable varieties for farmers to grow.In addition to cabbage, new types of winter melon, pumpkin and Chinese cabbage have also been cultivated. "Two melons and one vegetable" are the basic vegetables on the Chinese dinner table.

Gene technology, cross-breeding and other methods have been applied to improve cold resistance and disease resistance, and also increase the content of crude fiber, vitamins and minerals.A fully mechanized test area covering nearly 100 acres of cabbage has also been established.

The changes in Jiayu are not only biological, but also digital.In the vegetable science and technology demonstration park managed by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the future of agriculture is clearly displayed.

A network of digital sensors continuously monitors the environment - weather data, temperature, soil conditions, pests and diseases, and water and fertilizer levels.If a problem occurs, alerts are sent directly to farmers' smartphones.Drones patrol the fields, conducting health checks from the air.

A technology-driven approach delivers incredible results.Jiayu cabbage has zero chemical pesticide residue indicators, and the cabbage is as sweet as a melon.From the place of production, processing workshop to specific fields, there are corresponding traceability codes to ensure safety and quality.

“You don’t need to wash it with water because the dishes are clean enough.”Qiu Zhengming proudly declared.

This shift has empowered farmers.Instead of relying on the vagaries of weather and intuition, they can make data-driven decisions.

Additionally, they can place orders directly from seed banks managed by scientists.This is much more efficient and high quality than their own breeding, and avoids losses caused by bad weather.

Now, Jiayu’s dishes are supplied to all parts of the country, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities.75,000 farmers are directly involved in planting and increasing their income.

Not only vegetables, the most famous example of using science and technology to independently supply people's tables is Yuan Longping's hybrid rice.This initiative greatly improved China's food self-sufficiency rate.

Hubei, a major grain-producing province known as the "Land of Fish and Rice", has now developed high-yield and high-protein corn as an alternative to reducing soybean imports.In addition, fish with better meat quality are bred.Neighboring Henan Province has developed lodging-resistant rice, and Shaanxi has developed drought-resistant and high-yielding wheat.Some have even gone abroad to help farmers in Central Asian and African countries increase production and income.

These tasks are all centered on the concept of "people first".As Qiu Zhengming said, their job is to ensure that "family affairs, state affairs, and world affairs, and people's lives are the most important thing."

Farmer Liu Lianhong said that her family's income mainly comes from the land transfer fees paid by the vegetable planting base and year-end dividends. She also works at the planting base and is busy transplanting cabbage seedlings and weeding recently.

Wang Dongmei, a second-level inspector of the Hubei Provincial Department of Science and Technology, said that this year, Hubei has dispatched 13,000 agricultural science and technology commissioners and built 1,144 science and technology commissioners to help boost the production of grain, vegetables and other foods.