Developing contract farming opens up new income channels for farmers and workers

“Last year I earned more than 70,000 yuan from the contracted potatoes and seed corn I grew. This year I am still growing contract crops; I just focus on growing them well and do not worry about sales. All I need to do is follow the technical requirements of the company and plant and manage scientifically to ensure both yield and quality, and this year I will strive to earn more than 100,000 yuan,” said Zhang Tao, a worker of the 11th Company of the 4th Regiment of the 1st Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.

With the group advantage of “company + base + growers,” the 4th Regiment has set up associations along each industry chain to match and connect workers who grow potatoes and seed corn. At present, the regiment has developed more than 50,000 mu of contract farming area. While guiding workers to develop contract farming, it has also focused on strengthening scientific and technical training to raise the scientific and technological content of contract farming. In order to help growers master the cultivation techniques for various crops, the regiment holds technical lectures, distributes technical materials, and sends scientific and technical personnel deep into the fields to provide guidance and solve workers' cultivation technique problems. As a result, the potatoes, seed corn, wheat and other agricultural products grown by the workers are of high quality and fetch good prices, and many workers have taken the road to prosperity by developing contract farming.