Farming has long been seen as an overworked and underpaid job. Many people, especially the youth in the countryside, choose to leave the fields. Now, the stereotype is changing. A pilot family farm scheme in Shanghai's Songjiang District has made farming a career with a decent income.

In 2015, the average household income of a family farm was 118 thousand yuan, or about 20 thousand US dollars. Farming is no longer a low-return job here.

The local authorities will slash the current number of 1,119 family farms to about 600 to 800. The goal is to increase the scale for mechanized farming.