An expert gives advice at a fresh corn processing center in Tongzhou district. [Photo/WeChat account: wxtzfb]

Executives at food manufacturer and processor Jiangsu Giant Food Co Ltd – based in the Tongzhou district of Nantong city in East China's Jiangsu province – were elated to see a 60-percent rise in its fresh corn output this year, thanks to expert guidance provided by a local science and technology service workstation.

Established last December, the workstation is jointly operated by the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Tongzhou District Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau.

Technical experts provided guidance on the problem of the low levels of technology and quality that previously existed, in line with the district's long and unchanged practices in cultivating the crop.

A fresh corn planting concern of more than 3,000 mu (200 hectares) owned by Jiangsu Giant Food was selected as a test model for the workstation.

The company's frozen waxy sweet corn, once its best-selling product, was losing out in the market due to variety degeneration.

On the experts' recommendation, the company chose a new corn variety called Sukenuo 12 – with the aim of boosting its annual processing capacity of quick-frozen corn products from 600 tons to more than 1,000 tons, according to Wu Gang, a senior manager of the company. Profits are now projected to go up accordingly.

Xu Biao, a farm owner in Liuqiao town, is a beneficiary of the service. He signed an agreement with Jiangsu Giant Food to implement standardized planting. He roughly calculated that for each mu he could get a profit of 1,000 yuan ($154.20).

The sci-tech service workstation has now served more than 20 large growers and new business entities in the district and created two corn model demonstration bases.

The fresh corn planting area in Tongzhou has reached around 20,000 mu so far this year, with a total output value of more than 60 million yuan, according to a local official.