The governor of Heilongjiang province has said that they need to use the “Internet Plus” approach to innovation in agricultural and the rural economic development and has urged all agriculture departments across the province to look for ways to make full use of competitive industries such as agriculture and look for larger markets for their products.

Lu Hao made the comments via a teleconference in the provincial capital, Harbin, on July 6, where he called for more innovative ideas from “Internet Plus”, a catchword that was mentioned by Premier Li Keqiang in March of this year in a government work report.

China's "Internet Plus" action plan, announced on July 4, refers to the connecting of the mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things with modern manufacturing to encourage the healthy development of e-commerce, industrial networks, and Internet banking, and to help Internet companies develop an international presence.

On the teleconference, Lu outlined a sustainable development plan of “Internet Plus” for agriculture, where high-quality products will sell at a good price to stimulate improvements in planting and improve agricultural layout, and described development goals and support measures to establish new agricultural modes by using the Internet, including 1,000 new plantations for top-quality organic produce, e-commerce sites for staples like rice and bean, and better telecommunications in rural areas.

All commerce departments and agricultural authorities are expected to be responsible for the logistics resources in their region and for providing help to e-commerce startups in rural areas.

For "Internet Plus" development in agriculture, Lu said, Heilongjiang needs more innovative cooperation and business models connecting enterprises and farmers and needs to make better use of local professionals, and then went on to emphasize the need to protect farmer’s rights and interests and keep an open mind.