State Grid power company amps agricultural efforts amid cold wave

Recently, a cold wave has swept across major parts of China. To help safeguard food security amid the extreme weather, the State Grid's power supply company in Lanxi, a county-level city in Jinhua of Zhejiang province, has taken a number of measures.

Junlian Ecological Agriculture Technology Co Ltd, a local firm focusing on cultivating edible mushrooms, is one of the company's clients. Chen Shaorong, owner of the firm, said all the mushroom cultivation steps involve strict temperature and humidity requirements, and even one slight problem could lead to severe consequences.

To help Junlian prevent and control possible risks brought by the cold weather, the company has sent staff to inspect the power distribution equipment, ensuring the normal operation of electric meters and the secure installation of insulation covers. The company also promoted the electrical safety awareness in Junlian and guided the farmers to properly control temperatures and irrigation in the greenhouses.

"Thanks to the State Grid, we have stable access to electricity. Now we have no worries about using it for agricultural production during the winter," said Chen.

The company also said it creates WeChat groups for all its clients who participate in smart farming and have greenhouses, providing them with an online channel to ask questions or report a repair. Besides, it develops personalized power supply plans for the clients based on their demand and electrical load.

These moves help farmers successfully meet the rising demand for fruits and vegetables, which comes with the New Year and Spring Festival vacations.

Over the past few years, the State Grid of China has strived to provide stable power supply amid the extreme weather and other natural disasters, bringing benefits to China's agriculture, farmers and rural areas, as well as safeguarding the country's food security.

Li Guoxiang, researcher at the Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China's food security, though at a pretty high level, still faces many challenges. When there is extreme weather or disasters, timely measures must be taken to reduce the damage to agriculture.

The recently concluded Central Rural Work Conference pointed out that last year China has overcome the adverse effect of some severe natural disasters, with food production hitting record highs and farmers' incomes growing at a faster pace.

zhuangqiange@chinadaily.com.cn