Post-90s Ph.D. in a small courtyard in the field of "self seeking hardship" | Technology | self seeking hardship
"Young people should 'seek hardship on their own'. For students in our Science and Technology Academy, seeking hardship on their own is down-to-earth, taking the initiative to take on responsibilities, and doing practical things for the people in the fields." Xu Junping, a post-90s doctor from the Science and Technology Academy of China Agricultural University, told reporters during the recording of the 'Youth Talk' program.
The "Science and Technology Academy" was established by the team of academicians Zhang Fushuo from China Agricultural University in 2009 in Baizhai Township, Quzhou County, Hebei Province. It is a technology service platform that integrates talent cultivation, agricultural technology innovation, and new technology demonstration and promotion.
In March 2019, Xu Junping, who was still a graduate student, received a call from his supervisor asking him to go to the Hangjinhou Banner Science and Technology Academy in Inner Mongolia. It was the first time he heard the name "Hangjinhou Banner" and he felt very confused. But the mentor's teachings lingered in his ears: "If all graduate students were studying theory in school and not connecting with production, what would future farmers do?" Thinking of this, Xu Junping decisively abandoned his distractions and left the campus to come to Hangjinhouqi Science and Technology Academy, where he had been staying for over four years.
Hangjinhou Banner is a typical agricultural and animal husbandry banner county in Hetao Irrigation District, with obvious advantages in agricultural infrastructure, but there are also bottlenecks. A series of problems such as seed selection, fertilizer application, and red spider control have all led to low yields of local corn, requiring the introduction and innovative breakthroughs of agricultural technology.
"Can school children grow crops better than villagers who have worked for most of their lives?" When they first arrived at Hangjinhou Banner, the farmers did not have much confidence in Xu Junping. Faced with doubts, Xu Junping did not explain much, but proved his strength and determination through practical actions. In the spring of Hangjinhou Banner, Xu Junping braved strong winds and sand and went to the fields to communicate with farmers. "I promise the farmers that if my method of planting causes a reduction in grain production, I will bear all the losses alone," Xu Junping told reporters.
Under Xu Junping's insistence, some villagers have lowered their psychological defenses, while others are still observing. In order to make the villagers who hold a wait-and-see attitude completely believe, Xu Junping went down to work with them.
Farmers have one piece of land, I have one piece of land, and the final decision is who grows well and produces high yields. Due to good variety selection, standardized planting methods, and advanced pest and disease prevention and control technologies, the corn growth and yield in Xujunping plot are significantly better than those of farmers. "At that time, the farmer walked into the field and asked me, 'Xiao Xu, what kind of variety are you growing so well? Next year, I will also use the variety and technology you recommended.'" Xu Junping said.
When Hangjinhou Banner Science and Technology Academy was established, there was an outbreak of corn spider mites in the local area. In response, Xu Junping proposed the technical means of using the efficient and low toxicity chemical agent Avispiromide to control corn spider mites.
"This is a green, safe, and non-toxic pesticide with good permeability and long shelf life. Spraying it in advance has a good preventive effect on red spider mites." Xu Junping rode his bike to three village groups all morning, explaining the knowledge of preventing and controlling corn red spider disease to the villagers over and over again. He also conducted comparative demonstrations in farmer fields, reducing the incidence of red spider mites by 30%.
How to effectively cover and disseminate innovative technologies, and how to benefit farmers from these technologies, has been a question that Xu Junping has been considering. He discussed innovative methods for training farmers with his mentor and local grassroots leaders, and proposed a plan for "full coverage of farmer training in science and technology academies".
Xu Junping led members of the Science and Technology Academy to conduct 105 offline special farmer training sessions in rural fields and village committees in a zero distance manner, with a total of more than 5400 trainees; Establish a technical service group of over 300 people in Hangjinhou Banner Science and Technology Small Courtyard; Solve over 30 field problems for farmers in a zero cost and zero threshold manner.
Xu Junping admitted that staying in a small institute does indeed affect the research output during his doctoral studies, but through his experience rooted in a science and technology small institute, he has increasingly realized the value and significance of frontline work, which is not only reflected in the papers published in core journals, but also on the land of his motherland.
"I am very fortunate to have chosen to enter the Science and Technology Academy to serve agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. The scientific research I have done in the academy can directly help farmers, and it has also made me more aware of the value and significance of life," said Xu Junping.
