Tech-savvy young farmer pioneers smart agriculture in southwest China

A teenage farmer in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has mastered much about smart farming machinery and aspires to become an agricultural expert on both tools, particularly drones, and techniques.

Xiao Yin, 19 years old, is already a professional drone pilot with four years of experience.

The young professional drone pilot discovered his passion in 2021, when he found a parallel between drone operations and video games, which motivated him to switch his major from accounting to drone piloting at the vocational education center of Chongqing's Liangping District.

"We use two thumbs to operate drones, just like we do in playing video games. So, I think piloting drones is like playing video games," Xiao said.

Xiao also learned how to drive tractors, rotary tillers and many other types of farming machinery at school.

Since his graduation from the vocational education center last year, Xiao has provided drone services on more than 3,300 hectares of farmland.

"Xiao definitely qualifies as a mature new-generation farmer now. He is very competent in both crop science and agricultural machinery operations," said Li Shifei, Xiao's teacher.

Despite his achievements, Xiao maintains a learner's mindset. He recently mastered the skills to operate unmanned rice transplanters through direct instructions from equipment manufacturers after their introduction at his agricultural cooperative.

Xiao has also applied for continuing education at Sichuan Agricultural University, hoping to become a new-generation farmer who excels at both agricultural machinery and agrotechnology.

"To my parents, agriculture is weeding the fields every day. To me, agriculture is modern. There's still a large development space in agriculture, so my career has the same potential as working in factory. I know if I want to become an agricultural expert, I need to learn and ask questions to lay a solid foundation, which will ebable me to better serve the crop growers in the future," Xiao said.

Tech-savvy young farmer pioneers smart agriculture in southwest China

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply concerned about the U.S. rhetoric suggesting possible intervention in the situation in Iran, urging all parties to pursue diplomacy and dialogue in line with the principles of the UN Charter, his spokesperson said on Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his administration is weighing "some very strong options," including potential military action against Iran amid the unrest across the Middle East country.

At a press briefing Monday at the UN Headquarters in New York, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, conveyed Guterres' alarm over the remarks.

"The rhetoric that we've heard around the situation in Iran, which is concerning to him (Guterres), and he encourages all to adopt a path of diplomacy and dialogue," said Dujarric.

"We push for dialogue, and I think the [UN] Charter is very clear on your question," Dujarric said when asked whether foreign intervention might help resolve the crisis. The UN Charter enshrines core principles including the sovereign equality of all states, non-intervention in the affairs of other states, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

These norms were further reinforced by the 1970 Declaration on Principles of International Law, adopted by the UN General Assembly, which explicitly states that no state or group of states has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other state.

Protests have erupted in several Iranian cities since late December over the sharp fall in the national currency rial and long-standing economic hardships. The reported death toll from the unrest on both sides of the security forces and civilians is mounting.

UN chief urges diplomacy amid US military threats against Iran: spokesperson