Harvest festival promotes new seeds, agricultural technologies(2)

The role of science and technology in developing agriculture will also be highlighted at this year's festival. Exhibitions will focus on smart agriculture, digital villages and the vitalization of the seed industry.

The Great Granary Science and Technology Exhibition Center at the major site of the event in Chengdu aims to promote high-quality varieties, modern agricultural machinery and advanced technologies.

In Beijing's Changping district, the operation of an unmanned corn harvester will be demonstrated in a field.

Local authorities are urged to organize agricultural technology promotion, training on production skills, and other activities to provide farmers with more opportunities for exchanges and learning, Tang said.

Wang Yuanwei, a farmer in Sichuan's Yongfeng village, has received excellent rice varieties and learned a series of new planting techniques from the local science and technology bureau.

His 213 hectares of rice fields had another bumper harvest this year, he said at one of the launch activities in the province on Sunday.

To involve more farmers in the festival and boost creativity and productivity, farm skills competitions will be held to cultivate talent in planting, entrepreneurship, e-commerce and folk art, Tang said.

Urban residents are also participating in the festival through consumer promotion activities that started from Sept 13.

E-commerce platforms such as Alibaba, JD and Pinduoduo have actively responded to the promotion season targeting agricultural products.

Local authorities will carry out various consumer promotion activities that integrate online and offline sales, helping farmers increase incomes and enriching the dishes on the dining tables of urban residents.