Modern agricultural machines work on grain fields in Tongzhou district, Nantong. [Photo/WeChat account: wxtzfb]

Tongzhou district, Nantong, advanced its agricultural transformation and upgrade efforts focusing on food security, technological empowerment, and industrial integration during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

Over the span of five years, Tongzhou built 181,800 mu (about 12,120 hectares) of high-standard farmland and became a national demonstration zone for crop mechanization, with a mechanization rate of 98.59 percent. The grain-sowing area stayed above 1.13 million mu and is expected to have hit 1.15 million mu by 2025, with a total output of 514,700 metric tons, showing increases in area, output, and yield.

Focusing on advantageous industries like high-quality rice, the district created two 3-billion-yuan ($430.59 million) and four 1-billion-yuan agricultural chains. It also set up one provincial and one municipal modern agricultural park, making a historic breakthrough. Over 300 family farms, 34 leading enterprises, and 217 farmers' cooperatives emerged.

Exploring a new development model integrating planting, processing, sales, and tourism, the district operated 57 leisure agriculture businesses, with 3.15 million rural tourism visits recorded and 218 million yuan in revenue reached during the period, hitting a record high. With the rapid rise of e-commerce, Tongzhou's agricultural products are now more accessible nationwide.

From 2021 to 2025, rural residents' per capita disposable income in Tongzhou reached 37,119 yuan, ranking second in the city, while the urban-rural income ratio narrowed to 1.82:1.

In the next five years, Tongzhou aims to turn all 657,200 mu of permanent basic farmland into high-standard land and foster more 3-billion-yuan chains, further advancing rural vitalization.