From August 12 to 14, the first Rural Revitalization Talent Training Program of 2026 for Dafeng District, Yancheng City, was successfully held. A total of 48 key rural development personnel from 15 towns, districts, and sub-districts across the region completed an intensive three-day, two-night program combining theoretical study and field research, with six trainees being recognized as outstanding participants.
The trainees gained valuable insights and returned with practical development strategies tailored to local conditions. Jing Huaiyu, a trainee from Caoyan Town who previously focused on agricultural production but lacked market-oriented management skills, plans to pilot a "three harvests per year" planting model in his village after the field study in Shanghai, aiming to lead surrounding farmers in collectively exploring market opportunities. Wang Ziyi from Wanying Town, inspired by Shanghai's agricultural product traceability systems and cooperative income-sharing models, intends to leverage local specialty industries to ensure product quality, connect with Shanghai market orders, and help low-income residents increase their earnings. Chen Ying from Fenghua Sub-district, identifying local weaknesses in agricultural product grading and sorting, plans to initiate the construction of a centralized grading and sorting center to streamline external sales channels and ensure premium pricing for high-quality products.
In recent years, the Dafeng District Party Committee and District Government, in collaboration with the Shanghai Farm stationed in Dafeng, have been advancing the rural revitalization strategy by establishing a distinctive talent training brand. The initiative aims to cultivate approximately 100 high-caliber agricultural professionals annually. This training program broke away from the traditional classroom-and-observation model, incorporating innovative teaching segments such as field research in Shanghai, experience-sharing sessions, group discussions, and implementation planning to help participants broaden their perspectives and update their development concepts.
The trainee cohort this year reflects a trend toward youth, higher education, and diversity: the average age is 31, with 72% under the age of 35, and over 90% holding a college degree or higher. Participants include village cadres, farmer agents, large-scale farming households, veterans, and college graduates returning to their hometowns to start businesses, with expertise spanning high-quality rice and wheat cultivation, fruit and vegetable farming, livestock and poultry breeding, specialty crops, e-commerce livestreaming, and agricultural product processing.
The program introduced multiple innovations in curriculum design. Course content was aligned with industry frontiers, featuring practical subjects such as the "6+N" income-boosting model, three-harvest annual planting systems, modern agricultural industrialization, and agricultural artificial intelligence, with classrooms moved directly to Shanghai's agricultural production frontline. Trainees visited the Shanghai Western Suburb International Agricultural Products Trading Center to learn about product circulation, supply assurance, and consumption-driven support models; observed standardized planting, contract farming, and leisure agriculture operations at local Shanghai cooperatives; and studied comprehensive rice industry chain development and agri-cultural tourism integration at Donghe Jiugu Happy Farm. The teaching approach established a complete "learning-thinking-applying" loop, employing a five-in-one model of expert lectures, field visits, group discussions, experience exchanges, and follow-up tracking to maximize training effectiveness.
Local agricultural experts were invited to teach, with planting specialists demonstrating high-efficiency cultivation techniques and enterprise technicians sharing insights on specialized breeding and cooperative animal husbandry, transforming professional agricultural knowledge into accessible, practical guidance. The training combined classroom instruction with field-based mentorship, emphasizing the development of branding awareness, market thinking, and e-commerce operational skills, guiding traditional farmers to evolve from purely production-focused roles into modern agricultural practitioners equipped with business management and marketing capabilities.
During the graduation presentations, trainees outlined more than 20 actionable measures, including establishing product traceability systems, promoting high-efficiency multi-cropping, and developing contract farming, forming individual implementation plans. The program achieved a trainee satisfaction rate exceeding 98%, with participants reporting significant improvements in their development strategies and job performance. Looking ahead, the Dafeng District Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau will work with the Shanghai Farm to establish long-term communication channels between trainees and experts, implement follow-up tracking mechanisms, and continuously refine the talent cultivation model to create a benchmark rural revitalization talent program in Dafeng, solidifying the human capital foundation for comprehensive rural revitalization.