Weifang city in Shandong province has made remarkable achievements in the high-quality development of its economy and society this year.

The total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery of the city is expected to exceed 130 billion yuan ($18.28 billion) for the year, with the added value of the primary industry reaching 67 billion yuan, the highest in the province.

The city plays a key role in ensuring food security and enhancing the supply of staple foods and agricultural products. The sown area of staple foods spans around 10.3 million mu (about 686,666.67 hectares), and has an annual production of about 8.7 billion catties (a catty is a Chinese measure equal to 500 grams).

Additionally, 301,000 mu of high-standard farmland have been built or upgraded, and the area of efficient and water-saving irrigation has reached 160,000 mu. The total annual output of vegetables, meat, eggs and fruits will reach over 14 million metric tons, 1.7 million tons, and 1.06 million tons respectively.

Weifang has constructed a new agricultural production and operation system, and upgraded the industrial chains in rural areas. There are 134 provincial and above-level leading agricultural enterprises and 439 demonstration cooperatives, the most in the province. Weifang has also accelerated the construction of 178 key agricultural projects at or above the city level that are worth 16.78 billion yuan in investments.

The city is also boosting new industries such as ecological tourism and leisure sightseeing. Its rural e-commerce sector now has more than 6,000 businesses, and online retail sales have hit 20 billion yuan. Weifang has created 13 boutique rural tourism routes, 95 new certified green and organic agricultural product brands and has 10 new entries in the national list of excellent new agricultural products.

Weifang is making a full breakthrough in key technologies such as core germplasm and digital agriculture. The contribution rate of agricultural technological progress has reached 69 percent. Leveraging innovation platforms such as the Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, Peking University, Weifang has established 10 seed innovation teams and cultivated two national seed enterprises.  

The city has mapped out 150 application scenarios in 10 major agricultural fields, and built 40 agricultural smart parks and over 200 smart farms and ranches.

Weifang is home to more than 128 training bases, 320,000 rural professionals and over 1,700 beautiful villages.