A basket of peaches harvested from a family farm in Rugao, a county-level city of Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Rugao is a city that values family farms as participants of modern agriculture. Data shows that in 2022, Rugao's family farms achieved 1.66 billion yuan ($227.08 million) in total revenue.

Rugao currently has 2,528 registered family farms of various types, with an operating area of 376,300 mu (25,086 hectares), covering rice, fruits, vegetables, livestock, poultry, flowers, trees, and aquatic products.

For example, Wu Jian runs Guoxiang Family Farm in Gushen village, Motou town. He grows grapes, peaches and other fruits in summer and raises crabs in autumn. Last year, his farm's net profit was close to 600,000 yuan.

This year, Wu's farm built a new agricultural product quality traceability testing room, uploading the production process and test reports of agricultural products in real time. By scanning the QR codes, the entire agricultural production process can be tracked. 

Wang Xiaolong is the owner of Jinwang Family Farm in Dingmao village, Motou town. He returned to his hometown to grow fruits and vegetables using modern technology. He adopted soil improvement and efficient intercropping techniques to increase land output. Last year, his farm's sales reached 4 million yuan and net profits reached 650,000 yuan.

Ji Yaqin established Wanze Family Farm in Shenxu village, Chengnan sub-district in 2015. She breeds leeches, a special aquatic product with high market demand. The breeding scale has expanded from 150 mu originally to more than 400 mu today. Her farm's annual output value exceeds 18 million yuan and has provided jobs for over 30 villagers.