The Jinan government is taking steps to encourage talent to return to their hometowns to start businesses so as to promote rural revitalization.

One of moves is the setting up of expert service platforms in the city's rural areas that would offer technical support to farmers.

The revenue of a plantation in Dawangzhuang town, Laiwu district, increased to 8 million yuan ($1.26 million) last year due to a new variety of pear that was cultivated by experts from Shandong Agricultural University.

The local government designated Shandong Yongxiang Agricultural Ecological Tourism Co as an expert base for rural revitalization. The company currently works with more than 10 experts from universities and research institutes to promote the cause, and has helped nearly 400 villagers with matters such as planting fruit trees, picking fruits and animal husbandry.

As of the end of 2020, Jinan had established 23 expert service platforms, providing talent support for agricultural development and increasing farmers' income.

A number of higher-education graduates have since returned to their hometowns to start businesses, thus injecting impetus into rural revitalization.

For example, Yang Fuyu quit her job and returned to Licheng district to start a strawberry planting company. Following 10 years of development, her strawberry planation has become a modern agricultural park integrating strawberry planting, processing, fruit picking, catering and homestay. The annual sales revenue of the plantation is currently around 9.6 million yuan.

Yang has encouraged more than 300 households to join the cooperative. The average household income now is more than 50,000 yuan.

In 2020, Jinan recruited 720 government rural affairs workers and 14 technical teams, and trained 2,850 farmers and 800 agricultural technicians to revitalize rural areas.