The Heilongjiang reclamation area also established a quality tracing system for agricultural produce from the field to the dining table, connected to market access. There have been nine pilot farms there for the quality tracing system of pollution-free agricultural produce set up by the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2006, Heilongjiang's quality and safety tracing and warning system of agricultural produce was developed for trial operation in four farms and information related to quality tracing during the production process was sent via regional information networks. At any time and anywhere, consumers can clearly see the details of pollution-free food when they are buying it in stores. If there are problems of product quality, they can be traced to the specific growers and fields that produced the products.

"Today, the mechanization level of agricultural production in Beidahuang is 100 percent," said Zhang of the HLRCB.

The region has the most advanced agricultural equipment in the world. In the last decade, it has introduced 530 high-powered tractors from the United States with functions that include satellite positioning, digital remote sensing and information collection. Besides this, there are more than 26,000 large and medium-sized tractors used for farming.

The region has 11,065 combine harvesters, including many harvesters imported from the United States with intelligent detecting systems. When harvesting, these combines can detect soil conditions such as shortage of certain nutrients and during cultivation the following year farmers can spread fertilizers to correct the deficiencies.

Farmers there have also adopted aviation with 31 planes used for monitoring crop growth.

In terms of planting crops, standardized management has been adopted. A whole set of standards have been formulated to regulate every link in the production process.

"Ten years ago, the yield per hectare was only 750 kg, but now, the number has reached 7,500 kg," said Yan Xuegui, a farmer at Puyang Farm. According to Yan, in light of the planting standards of Beidahuang, rice can't be planted after May 25. If rice were planted later, the yield would be reduced.

At present, there are 16 research institutions, as well as 103 farming technique promotion centers or stations in Beidahuang, with a technical staff totaling 84,000. Science and technology contribute 87 percent to the agricultural growth, much higher than the 70 percent in developed countries.

According to Zhang, with mechanized and standardized operation, the per-capita grain output in the region is as high as 380,000 kg every year, higher than the achievements in many developed countries. "Beidahuang has surpassed Canada in terms of agricultural output volume, overtaken the United States in terms of mechanization level and led the Netherlands in terms of agricultural industrialization," Zhang told Beijing Review.

Global reach

Located 400 km north of Harbin, at the highway entrance to the Baoquanling Farm stands a modernized oil and fat company-Jiusan Oil and Fat Co. Ltd. (JOFC)

JOFC has become a leader in the non-genetically modified soybean processing industry. Its products have been exported to Japan, South Korea, Russia and throughout Southeast Asia.

Besides JOFC, the green rice and organic rice produced by Beidahuang Rice Co. are widely popular in Japan, South Korea, India, Russia, Australia, the Middle East and the Caribbean. The rice exports arrived at 2 million kg in 2006.

By Zhang's estimation, the region has established economic and trade relations with over 30 countries and regions such as Japan, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It has established two boundary economic development zones in Hulin and Mishan, which carry out overseas agricultural cooperation with Russia, Kazakhstan and North Korea. Local enterprises have also created representative offices, wholly owned enterprises or joint ventures in countries and regions like the United Arab Emirates, Russia and Macao.

In Beidahuang, there are 150 trading companies, 27 foreign-funded companies and 20 overseas-registered companies.

"Beidahuang is not only a geographic term, but a brand," Zhang told Beijing Review.