New tech assists farming in desert

LANZHOU - Growing crops had never been profitable for the farmers of Shahe village, located in the waterless and desolate Gobi Desert of Gansu province.

"The land was so barren that most villagers had no choice but to leave to make a living," said Fan Lide, a resident of Shahe who has worked as a plumber, mechanic and taxi driver in other provinces.

In 2009, the Suzhou district in Jiuquan, which encompasses Shahe, launched a program to build greenhouses in the desert so that farmers could grow cash crops such as vegetables, edible fungi and grapes.