What changed
A themed online publicity event in Yudu, Jiangxi, highlighted Yuan Shougen’s role in building Gannan’s citrus industry and his call for more young people to enter technology-enabled agriculture. Yuan introduced 156 citrus seedlings in 1970; they have since grown into more than 2 million mu of plantings, while he continued advising growers for free after retiring in 2001.
Why it matters
Yuan’s story is less about one successful crop than about how agricultural change is carried forward. The work moved from trial planting to large-scale cultivation, then through difficult steps such as removing diseased trees and replacing them with virus-free seedlings. Yuan stayed involved long after his formal career ended, acting as a technical adviser to growers.
His warning is straightforward: better living standards do not erase the sacrifices that made them possible. But his more practical message points forward. Agriculture is moving toward intelligent and digital methods, and that shift will need people who understand both farming and technology.
Whether more young people take up that work remains uncertain. For now, the event presents Gannan citrus as a case where persistence, technical knowledge and a willingness to keep teaching mattered as much as the original breakthrough.
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