An aerial view of farmland in Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo/zjgonline.com.cn]

Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, has been focusing on developing high-quality farmland to promote modern agriculture.

According to the city's bureau of agriculture and rural affairs, Zhangjiagang is home to more than 450,000 mu (30,000 hectares) of crop fields. Following years of efforts on dredging ditches, leveling lands, improving soil quality, constructing roads, and offering technology services, 280,500 mu of the fields have been turned into high-quality farmland which has higher yields and stronger resistance to natural disasters.

In addition, 98.2 percent of agricultural production in Zhangjiagang is now done by machines. Some fields have also used advanced equipment such as unmanned aerial vehicles and adopted intelligent production management systems.

Due to the high-quality farmland development project, the output per mu of rice paddies and wheat fields in Zhangjiagang has reached 610 kilograms and 340 kilograms respectively. Local farmers now earn 150-300 yuan ($21.85-43.7) more per mu of farmland compared to before.

Measures such as water-saving irrigation and reduced use of fertilizers and pesticides have also improved the environment of the crop fields.