In Xinzhou county, Guo Yushu, a 45-year-old farmer with an annual income of about Rmb5,000, admits he struggled to talk his 30 fellow workers in his village into switching crops to plant sweetcorn.

• 45岁的新州县农民郭玉书(GuoYushu，音译)年收入大约5000元人民币。他承认，很难说动同村30多位村民改种甜玉米。