Northwest A&F University, focusing on the development of agriculture, rural area and farmers since its establishment 70 years ago, and oriented by integrating teaching with enterprises and research, has made strenuous effort to demonstrate and extend the research achievements. Each year, more than 800 faculty members from the university are sent to demonstrate and extend agricultural sci-tech achievements in rural areas. Since 1999, the university has established sci-tech cooperation with more than 80 local governments and corporations, and established more than 100 agricultural sci-tech demonstration bases and agricultural expert workshops. More than 400 items of new agricultural technology and variety have been demonstrated or extended, with an accumulative economic value of 20 billion yuan. The framework of our social service system involves three dimensions, namely sci-tech demonstration, sci-tech training and information consultation. With Yangling as the center of our sci-tech demonstration and extension network, the extension service is delivered to Shaanxi, northwest China, and ultimately whole country. The service network effectively promoted the extension and transformation of our sci-tech achievements and the development of agriculture and rural economy in western China.
 

Demonstration bases to develop local industries

Closely cooperating with the Administrative Committee of Yangling Agricultural High-tech Industries Demonstration Zone( Yangling HDZ), the University has established many experiment stations and agricultural high-tech demonstration bases in rural areas in accordance with the regional resource priority, industrial features and technological demands of local governments, enterprises and farmers, such as production bases for apple in Baishui County, melon in Yangliang Demonstration Zone, kiwi in Meixian County, tea in Xi’xiang County, aquaculture in Ankang district, walnut and chestnut in Shanyang County, and jujube in Qingjian County. An innovative sci-tech demonstration model involving the participation of the university, bases, demonstration household and farmers in general has been adopted to promote the transformation of research achievements. The detailed approaches for the service extension go like the followings:
 

Firstly, based on the industrial demands in the local area, sci-tech forces are restructured and more technicians attracted to organize sci-tech extension teams, thus to provide all-round services for rural production.
 

Meanwhile, integrative demonstration bases have been set up under the help of the local governments for teaching, industrialization and research practice in accordance with the demands of the local industries, thus to provide sci-tech support for the local leading industries.
 

Thirdly, with these demonstration bases as liaison office, researchers and experts in different fields are organized to study and develop the technology of assembly production, processing and marketing relying on the university intellectual property and research achievements, thus to provide development model for farmers, information services for local governments and leading industries, practice sites for undergraduate and postgraduate students and subjects for agricultural science and technology research.
 

Multi-level Training Services System
 

The university, making full use of the sci-tech forces and facilities, and making full play of the demonstration bases, set up a comprehensive training system integrating university, experiment stations and demonstration bases to provide flexible and effective sci-tech training and have made great achievements.
 

First is to set up the training center for rural cadres, agricultural technicians and farmers in northwest China relying on the sci-tech forces and facilities of the university. The multi-level training system provides short-term agricultural technology coaching to basic level technicians, technology demonstration households and general farmers in combination with production and farming season, and undertakes various training activities in cooperation with local governments, agriculture industries, Rural Cooperative Economical Organizations and other social communities.
Secondly, flexible training objects and plans are worked out to meet the demands of different regions, different industries and different trainees. Moreover, the training is conducted in various forms including lectures, group discussion, experience sharing and touring, which ensures the training to be target-oriented and more effective.
 

According to the statistics, more than 200 sessions have been held for more than 15,000 rural cadres and technicians since 2005. 2200 training conferences and on-spot reports have been held over 200,000 farmers. The training enabled the rural cadres to be well informed with the government policies, the way to construct new-typed rural area and strategies to organize farmers, and fostered large numbers of new farmers with modern production techniques, the craft of management and operation, thus to become the new power for the construction of new–typed rural area.
 

Efficient and Convenient Information Dissemination System

Multi-channel, all-round and wide-coverage agricultural technology information system is established by both the University and Yangling HDZ via internet, China telecom, radio stations, broadcasting stations, TV, magazines and newspapers.
 

Web sites for Yangling Agriculture Technology Extension and the Unification of Agricultural Science &Technology, and other web sites for special farming fields such as apple production, kiwi fruit, non-staple crops and silkworm are established to promote the demonstration of sci-tech achievements.
 

Expert 168consultation Hotline and 96889 Agriculture Information Hotline (Nongjiale) are jointly set up for framers to be accessible to the needed information by the university and China Telecom. In addition, Yangling Agricultural Sci-tech Newspaper, Yangling TV stations all designed agricultural columns. Agricultural short message platform with the help of China Telecom and China Unicom is established to promote the speedy dissemination of agricultural technology.