The frost has passed, and autumn is in full swing in Jingu. In the vast rural fertile fields, rice waves are returning to the warehouse and fruit is filling the sheds. A group of special figures are busy - university experts, graduate students, and agricultural technicians are stationed in the fields, "moving" laboratories to greenhouses, next to pig houses, and on salt-alkali flats. What makes this land so attractive? The answer is hidden in small technological courtyards without walls.
Since the three national departments jointly issued the first systematic document specifically supporting the construction of science and technology courtyards in 2022, and "science and technology courtyards" have been continuously written into the Central Document No. 1, this new model that accurately meets the needs of farmers with "zero threshold, zero distance, zero cost, and zero time difference" is becoming an important platform for the country to improve the efficiency of agricultural science and technology innovation and solve the "final step" problem of the implementation of scientific and technological achievements. Let science and technology go out of the laboratory and into the fields, and "down-to-earth" paper answers are being spread across the land of Jingu.
Youth takes root: write thesis on the earth
In a 288-acre vineyard area in Xiqing District, Professor Jiang Jianfu of Tianjin Agricultural College and his students often walk through the ridges to implement modern facility cultivation technology here, solving the pain points of traditional planting. The annual output of fresh grapes in the park can reach 150 tons.
"This variety does not require fruit thinning, natural growth, and no need for pesticides. Professor Jiang's team only dispenses some aphid medicine from the beginning, so the grapes no longer have aphids, so people can eat with peace of mind." Wang Junrong, technical director of the Qixiannv Grape Theme Camp, said, "This year's grapes have high quality, high yields, and good sales! In the future, we will cooperate through the platform of the Science and Technology Academy. I believe the quality of the grapes will be even better."
At the Shiitake Science and Technology Institute in Chutouling Town, Jizhou District, two graduate students have been stationed in the shed for a long time. Their growth has caught the attention of Ban Litong, a national leader in poverty alleviation and a professor at Tianjin Agricultural College. “Students are freed from the constraints of the laboratory and directly face problems on the front line of agriculture;
Technology empowerment: from “rice bags” to “new equipment”
Protecting the "rice bag" is also the mission of the courtyard. In the Jinnan Xiaozhan Rice Science and Technology Yard, technical models such as straw returning to the field, green manure rotation, and biological control of pests and diseases have taken root, reducing fertilizers and pesticides, allowing the saline-alkali soil to breed Xiaozhan rice with full grains, and firmly keeping the "rice bag" of the people of Jinmen. Wuqing Small Berry Science and Technology Yard relies on a base of more than 3,000 acres to tackle the precise cultivation and green prevention and control of strawberries and tomatoes. Its technology has radiated to many surrounding agricultural business entities, and it has also attracted local middle-aged and elderly laborers to work nearby - the benefits of land output have turned into real income in the pockets of ordinary people.
Facing the coastal saline-alkali land, Binhai Dairy Science and Technology Yard relies on the national core dairy breeding farm to develop new stress-tolerant forage varieties, improving barren tidal flats while building a solid "forage foundation" for the animal husbandry industry. Binhai Chinese Herbal Science and Technology Yard has developed a fresh ginseng appearance quality grading device based on deep learning, using machine vision to replace inefficient manual sorting to maintain the quality of authentic medicinal materials. Currently, teachers and students are also developing a third-generation intelligent track inspection robot for ginseng planting bases, allowing technological power to empower the Chinese herbal medicine planting industry.
At the Ninghe Pig Science and Technology Academy, Wang Xinyao and her classmates are applying the knowledge they have learned in the school to the construction of smart pig farms. "We are building a breeding and monitoring platform for breeding pigs. The biggest gain is that we can truly enter the front line of production and use the knowledge we have learned to solve practical problems." Wang Xinyao, a 2025 graduate student majoring in agricultural engineering at the School of Engineering and Technology of Tianjin Agricultural University, said that the next step is for the team to build an edge computing platform so that scientific research results can better help local farmers.
Going both ways: Talent and industry grow together
The science and technology courtyard is not only a place for technology transformation, but also a classroom for talent cultivation. "In the past, graduate students mainly worked in laboratories. After the establishment of the Science and Technology Institute, tutors took them to the fields and 'mingled' with farmers and enterprises." Li Liuan, dean of the Graduate School of Tianjin Agricultural University, said that this model achieves the trinity of talent training, scientific research, and social services. "Today, the 35 science and technology courtyards constructed by the college have been established in 10 agricultural-related areas in the city, covering more than 30 local characteristic agricultural industries such as small stations, rice, fruits and vegetables, livestock, and aquatic products, and have produced more than 1,200 papers and more than 160 patents. , more than 200 new technologies and new varieties, injecting surging scientific and educational momentum into the overall revitalization of the countryside. In the future, the school will further expand the scope based on the needs of the industry in agricultural areas and send more teachers and students to the small courtyards. "
From a grape, a grain of rice, to a pond of aquatic products, a group of livestock and poultry, from the joy of returning the autumn harvest to the innovation of smart equipment, generations of scientific and technological workers in Jingu are using technology as a pen and the land as paper to write a youthful chapter of rural revitalization. As autumn passes and winter comes, the footsteps in the small courtyard are moving faster and farther.
