Today marks the national Chinese Youth Day. It was established to honor the patriotic and anti-imperialist May Fourth Movement, launched on May 4, 1919 by Chinese students. On Wednesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended greetings to young Chinese ahead of the country's Youth Day. He was responding to a letter from students participating in the "Science and Technology Backyard" program at the China Agricultural University. Our Zhou Yixin has more.
Hu Jiayu is a graduate student at Henan Agricultural University. Over the course of three years, he's spent more than 800 days in rural areas, and he's currently stationed at the Wangfuzhuang Science and Technology Backyard in Henan Province.
A professor from China Agricultural University led teachers and graduate students to establish China's first Science and Technology Backyard in Quzhou County, Hebei Province, back in 2009. At present, more than 30 Chinese colleges and universities focused on agriculture have established more than 300 such Science and Technology Backyards.
Henan Province "The Science and Technology Backyard is set up to provide the students with an opportunity for long-term hands-on practice in rural areas. Among their main tasks is to promote agricultural technology to the local farmers and provide suggestions to help increase production and incomes."
After collecting soil and plant samples, students take them back to the Science and Technology Backyard to perform initial experiments. These revolve around the varieties of selection, the application of nutrients and soil improvement. Over the span of three years, students have published 15 high level papers. Students also volunteer to provide training to local farmers during critical periods of plant growth and protection.
In a letter from President Xi Jinping to students at the Science and Technology Backyard set up by the China Agricultural University, he said students should closely combine theoretical learning with rural practice, cultivate a love for agriculture and develop the skills to revitalize agriculture. He also called on youth to help strengthen and accelerate the modernisation of agriculture in rural areas to comprehensively build a modern socialist country.
Hu Jiayu, who is a master's student of Resource Utilization and Plant Protection of Henan Agricultural University said, "President Xi said young people have to ask for hardship, and that's what we do in the Science and Technology Backyard. We've helped farmers solve a series of production problems, and we are happy to see the smiles on their faces. The Science and Technology Backyard enables us to apply our skills to production, thereby promoting the development of agricultural technology."
In the Wangfuzhuang Science and Technology Backyard, students have helped local farmers fertilize crops according to a customized formula and promote agricultural transformation to accelerate the revitalization of the countryside.
from: CGTN
