When academic knowledge meets farmers, crop yields increase

An agricultural university in China has worked out a way to increase farmers' crop yields by residing scientific teams in villages to provide research and advice.

Beijing-based China Agricultural University set up an experimental facility called the Science and Technology Backyard in 2009 in Baizhai, Quzhou county, Hebei province, about 400 kilometers southwest of Beijing.

At the place, professors and graduate students of the university live, conduct scientific research and provide face-to-face professional guidance for local farmers.