PINGDU in Qingdao has become the nation’s first model zone for modern agriculture, the only place in Qingdao to win the title awarded by the Ministry of Agriculture.

    Pingdu now has 10 products under national protection, such as celery from Majiagou and grapes from Daze Mountain. It has also built a high quality model vegetable base on 21,000 hectares and a 4,000-hectare watermelon base. More than 20 production bases on 86,000 hectares were approved for agricultural production.

    According to statistics, there were 132 agricultural brands in Pingdu, of which 16 were Shandong Province brands.

    According to requirements by the Ministry of Agriculture, the model agricultural zone in Pingdu would focus on corn, peanuts and vegetables. It would build 40 edible oil bases in three years, with the development of 66,000 hectares for crop production and 26,000 hectares for peanut production. Up to 30 percent of the vegetables would receive certificates of organic food.(Wang Yuanyuan, Qian Zhuo)