Wu Jin/Shanghai Daily news

Chilly weather and an unusually large amount of rain during the first three months of this year weren't a huge financial disaster for farmers in Nanhui District, thanks to the district's efforts to "centralize" farming over the last few years.
During the first half of this year, the district's harvest was worth about 950 million yuan (US$114 million), accounting for 53 percent of the government's annual plan.
However, the district's agricultural department declined to compare the half-year output with the same period last year. It said the bad weather did affect planting.
To prevent unexpected disastrous weather from having a large effect on Nanhui's agriculture, the district has been pushing for fewer farmers to work larger areas of land.
Yu Yazhong, the vice director of the agricultural department, said intensive farming could help to raise planting capacity and popular brands will ensure farmers have stable markets.
The district handed out subsidies for farmers with more than 0.2 hectare of land, with more money going to those with larger farms to encourage centralization.
According to the district's regulation, each farmer with land ranging from 0.2 to 0.3 hectare can get a subsidy of 60 yuan per 0.06 hectare. The subsidy reached 80 yuan per 0.06 for farmers with land covering between 0.3 hectare and one hectare. The highest subsidiary is 100 yuan per 0.06 hectare for those with more than two hectares of land.
"In order to get more money, farmers will try to merge more land," said Yu.
Larger plots are expected to reduce the losses for a single family during the disastrous weather, according to Yu, a plan similar to the collective farming practiced from the 1950s to the 1970s.
However the cooperation is more commercialized as the district has attracted several companies such as Shanghai Meilin Food Group Corp to set up processing plants.
Yu said the standardized processing and farming from the orders of those companies will help the district open more markets including package food and canned food markets and set up more famous brands.
The district is also in talks with some overseas farming companies and hopes to lure more investment and technologies.
Nanhui District is famous for its sweet peaches and muskmelon. So far 76 of its collective farming units and big farmers have applied for trademarks of their peaches and other products.
To pursue more market shares, the farmers are engaged in producing high-quality products and applying for trademarks to protect their efforts, said Yu.
The district also holds annual agricultural exhibitions to display its peaches, muskmelons as well as vegetables, poultry and flowers.
This year, the exhibition will be held at the Shanghai Agricultural Exhibition at 2270 Hongqiao Road from July 22 to July 24.
The size of farming land in Nanhui has been reduced each year for the construction of industrial zones and the Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port.